Naga Cathedral

The first cathedral built for Naga was founded after the Diocese of Cáceres was established in 1595. It is a suffragan of the Diocese of Manila created by the papal bull of 14 August 1595, which also elevated the Diocese of Manila into an archdiocese. The church was destroyed by fire in 1768.[1]

The construction of the present cathedral in Spanish Romanesque Revival style was begun by Bishop Bernardo dela Concepción O.F.M. in 1808. An earthquake in 1820 damaged the cathedral. It was finished and consecrated under the administration of Monsignor Tomás Ladrón de Guevara in 1843.[1] It was damaged by a typhoon in October 1856, and restored by the Fray Francisco Gainza in 1862-1879. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1887, and repaired by Obras Publicas under the direction of Bishop Arsenio del Campo and Ricardo Ayuso in 1890.[2]

During the episcopate of Leonardo Zamora Legaspi, the cathedral was restored beginning in April 1987 under the supervision of Jaime M. San Andres, parish priest of the Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Naga City. On February 6, 1988 during the feast of Saint Peter Baptist, titular patron of the Archdiocese of Caceres, this Metropolitan Cathedral was again inaugurated and rededicated by Archbishop Legaspi together with other Bicolano bishops and priests.

The church presently has a generally cruciform plan and is Romanesque in ornamentation. It is a large stone construction with gabled galvanized iron sheets for roofing, the walls outside has a grey color. Above the crossing is a rectangular dome topped by a cupola.

The front façade has a high arch entrance with two-level, twin pilasters flanking both sides. It has a gentle curvature on both front corners to create the illusion of a softened façade. The facade is topped by a pediment surmounted by a round cupola, with its roof supported by tiny columns. The pediment is flanked by two short, symmetric hexagonal belfries on both ends. The front facade has an overall squat ook typical of Earthquake Baroque architecture.

Inside the cathedral are arcades to counter the effects of earthquakes that damaged the cathedral in 1820; above the nave and both left and right aisles are supported by four massive series of arches and columns. Each of the massive interior columns, arches, including the ceilings are decorated by trompe-l'œil paintings that were recently done. Both sides have stained glass windows.