San Agustin Church

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Within the walled city of Intramuros, San Agustin Church is the oldest stone church in the Philippines: founded by the Augustinian friars in 1571, the year Manila itself was born, and completed in stone in 1607 after fires destroyed its first wooden buildings. It has withstood the great earthquakes of 1863 and 1880, and in 1945 it was the only church of Intramuros left standing after the Battle of Manila; since 1993 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site among the Baroque Churches of the Philippines. Beneath its barrel-vaulted nave rest the remains of Miguel López de Legazpi, founder of Manila, and Filipinos still venerate there Our Lady of Consolation.