Gradual Makeovers of San Pablo City Cathedral

* the elegant façade of San Pablo City Cathedral

* a closer look at the church’s bell tower;
who would not want to climb it?

* some of the exterior fixtures on the church grounds

* statue of St. Joseph the Worker;

a shrine dedicated to St. Joseph the Worker and Universal Patron of the Church on the Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee of the Reverend Father Domingo G. Dolleton on July 1, 1987

On lonesome Sundays, when the computer screen is no longer a friendly scene, one can dampen boredom or any of those tiny random emotions by just taking a walk. I have been doing that activity since my college days, when the topics in textbooks do not penetrate the tired and feeble brain. A walk was, is, and will always be therapeutic.

* a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

* list of names of Madrinas del Monumento or
sponsors for the building of the monument

* a head of a cherub

* new parking space for the churchgoers

Thus, a short walk brought me to the San Pablo City Cathedral, not to attend mass but to observe the structure of the church. I say that the choice of paint has always been good for the exterior. But landscape definitely changed I observed. The front grounds were stripped bare and filled in with stones usually used for cement work. Some of the people online said that the grounds are now being made into parking spaces. And so it seems. Nothing wrong with that. But if they are going to eradicate eye sores, the church administrators could come up with a way to pool the candle vendors and all the other vendors to one place. There are certain times that the outside grounds look like a market place with the number of vendors present.

* another view of the church tower, this time from the side

* Saint Paul the First Hermit went missing! the old site of the statue

* statue of Saint Paul the First Hermit in its new place

* statue of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

* St. Therese of the Child Jesus Commemorative Chapel

Anyway, what surprised me before was that the statue of Saint Paul the First Hermit went missing! I thought they got rid of him for good but later I saw that he was only transferred near the Home for the Aged behind the church. Let us leave to them (the church administrators, that is) the reasons for doing so.

* the church’s main aisle; on the center is the new retablo

* the “flags”

* the San Pablo Cathedral church grounds at night

Inside, the retablo was reconstructed but I am yet to make a closer observation of this new fixture in the interior. The big flags (can I really call them flags?) inside also often change depending on the occasion and they are, I think, good. Space fillers kumbaga. With those decorations, the interior reminds me of Hogwarts.

Not related to this post: I am still wondering whether my request to have access to the Diocesan Archives was read, deliberated, or tackled at all. It is quite saddening not to receive any form of response. Even a letter of refusal would do. But I really hope that they would grant me so that I will be able to make several steps forward in my self-imposed local history research.