Boljoon is a large municipality 90 kilometers south of Cebu city with a population of around 19,000, the town has a very rich and long history. This is a short history of the church of Boljoon.
The first records of Boljoon being mentioned was when Boljoon was a visita of Carcar in 1599. Boljoon became an independent Vicariate on October 31, 1690 a 109 years later. The church was once run by Jesuits before they were exiled. Boljoon’s earlier building had been destroyed in a raid in 1782, and its pastor Fr. Ambrosio Otero started rebuilding the following year. The work was continued by Fr. Manuel Cordero in 1794 but when Fr. Julian arrived, the work was not yet completed. He decided to build a blockhouse on which artillery was mounted, and he enclosed the church perimeter with a wall measuring 120 by 80 meters. He finally completed the church marking one of the first times in the history of the church of Boljoon when the church was complete. The church and the adjoining convento were restored by Fr. Leandro Moran (1920–1948) the last Augustinian friar to be assigned to Boljoon. Fr Julian Bermejo was the priest who built the fortifications of the church like the Gran Baluarte, the Muralla and the Baluarte sa Fuente.
The church is made of Coral stone blocks, the walls are 2 meter thick and made of Coral stone and Argamasa. Nuestra Señora de Patrocinio Parish Church of Boljoon shows old and intricate carvings and bas-reliefs. It is in a pseudo-baroque rococo style. It has a main nave, a transcript, and twenty-eight pillars which support the walls. The facade of the church is reminiscent of the churches of Dalaguete and Argao, the facade is made of three levels divided by pillars with one arched door and 2 arched windows, the sacred heart is enshrined at the facade in the middle. In 1784 the first church was destroyed during a Moro pirate. Fr. Ambrosio Otero started rebuilding the following year. The following year 1785 Fr. Manuel Cordero started the Building of a Large watchtower or blockhouse which is now the Gran Baluarte the following year the new priest Fr. Julian Bermejo finished construction of the Gran Baluarte and in the same year the Muralla or Wall was completed encasing the entire Church complex and there is also a small Quadrilateral baluarte in the North East corner of the church.
The Retablo is divided into 3 levels tapering to the top. The main retablo has gold leaf highlights and polychrome accents. Located on the central niche of the main altar is the image of Boljoon’s patron, Our Lady of Patrocinio, brought by Father Bartolome de Garcia from Spain in 1599. A side chapel located on the left side of the church is also dedicated to the patron. The Retablo is also made of tugas which is one of the most durable and strongest species of wood in the Philippines. The pulpit still exists and has Pineapple motifs and very elaborate designs. The first floor of the church convent houses a museum containing liturgical objects such as record books, images of saints, vestments and other relics.
The belltower to the right of the facade is quadrilateral in shape and slowly tapers to the top, the Gran Baluarte is now used as the belltower with seven bells inside, the ground floor of the Gran Baluarte has very old paintings made by prisoners inside the first floor of the baluarte, making this, though not directly part of the church building, an interesting part of the history of the church of Boljoon.
The first burials in Boljoon’s cemetery probably occurred in the 1760s. It was closed when a public cemetery was opened. Its gates might have been built in the 1700s, or in 1783 when the present church was constructed. Consisting of coral stones, the cemetery has a symmetrical stone arch gateway with a three-layer pediment, finials on both sides of the two-lower layers and a stone relief of a human skeleton on top. The walls are also adorned with a relief of a human skull and bones. It has been declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines and a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. It is also under consideration for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Philippines as a member of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines
