Sta. Cruz, Manila
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| City | Manila |
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| Population (2007) | 118,779 |
| – Density | per km² |
| Area | km² |
| – Barangays | 82 |
| – Cong. Districts | 3rd District |
Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near the mouth of the river, in between the districts of Tondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, and Caloocan City and Quezon City. The district belongs to the 3rd congressional district of Manila in the Philippines.
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors to the Philippine Islands, the district of Santa Cruz was partly a marshland, patches of greeneries, orchards and partly rice fields. A Spanish expedition in 1581 claimed the territory and awarded to the Society of Jesus whose members are known as 'Jesuits'.
The Jesuits built the first Roman Catholic church in the area where the present Santa Cruz Parish stands on June 20, 1619. The Jesuits enshrined the image of the Our Lady of The Pillar in 1643 to serve the pre-dominantly Chinese residents in the area. The image drew a lot of devotees and a popular cult grew around it.
On June 24, 1784, King Carlos III of Spain gave the deeds to about 2 km² of land that was part of the Hacienda de Mayhaligue to the San Lazaro Hospital which served as a caring home for lepers in Manila at that time.
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Wikipedia