San Antonio de Padua Parish Church (Pila)
| Pila Church | |
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| San Antonio de Padua Parish Church Diocesan Shrine of San Antonio de Padua |
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Facade of the first Antonine Church in the Philippines
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.svg)
 Pila Church
Republic of the Philippines
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| 14°14′02″N 121°21′52″E / 14.233958°N 121.364398°ECoordinates: 14°14′02″N 121°21′52″E / 14.233958°N 121.364398°E | |
| Location | Poblacion, Pila, Laguna |
| Country | Philippines |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Founded | 1578 |
| Founder(s) | Fr. Juan de Plasencia and Fr. Diego de Oropesa |
| Dedication | St. Anthony of Padua |
| Dedicated | 1581 (as Parish) |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Diocesan Shrine and Parish church (2002) |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architectural type | Church building |
| Style | Baroque |
| Completed | 1849 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sand, gravel, cement, and bricks |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Manila |
| Diocese | San Pablo |
| Province | Manila |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Luis Antonio Tagle |
| Bishop(s) | Buenaventura M. Famadico |
| Priest(s) | Edwin D. Lusterio |
The Church of Pila also known as the San Antonio de Padua Parish Church designated as the Diocesan Shrine of San Antonio de Padua (Filipino: Pandiyosesis na Dambana ni San Antonio de Padua) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo is a church dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua in the Philippines in 1578 and the first Antonine parish church in the Philippines in 1581 and probably in Asia. In 1606 the Franciscans set up the second printing press of the Philippines under the supervision of Tomás Pinpín and Domingo Loag. Its titular is St. Anthony of Padua, whose feast is celebrated every June 13. As of 2015[update] the parish priest was Father Edwin D. Lusterio.
The first missionaries in Pila were Augustinians who administered their missions from Bay. The Franciscans then started to evangelize the townsmen of Pila through Fray Juán Portocarrero de Plasencia and Fray Diego de Oropesa de San José (known as the Apostles of Laguna and Tayabas) in 1578. They started to established "Villa de Pila" and soon built a church out of cane, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. From being a reducción, Pila was elevated to a parish on the feast of its titular on June 13, 1581, with Fray Oropesa as its pastor (parish priest) until 1583. With its establishment, Pila became the first church dedicated to St. Anthony in the country. The Spanish colonial authorities gave the Pila the title, La Noble Villa de Pila. In 1599 permission was given by the Superior Gobiernoto build a stone church. In 1617 the stone church and rectory was finished in Pagalangan (place of reverence).
The Franciscans established the second printing press in the Philippines in 1606. The first Tagalog dictionary Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by local pastor Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura was printed here in 1613 by Tomás Pinpín and Domingo Loag. The dictionary was used to facilitate the evangelization of the Tagalog region.
An infirmary run by male Franciscan religious from Lumban was transferred to Pila in 1618, and in 1673 transferred to the town of Santa Cruz. About 75 Franciscan missionaries retired and died at Pila's infirmary, and were buried at the local cemetery. These included Fray Miguel de Talavera (died 1622), a prolific writer in Tagalog, and Fray Blás de la Madre de Diós (died 1626), ex-provincial and author of the earliest Flora de Filipinas, Manila Archbishop Fernando Montero de Espinosa, newly arrived from Madrid, also died here in 1644 on his way to take possession of his see.
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Wikipedia