Imus Cathedral


The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar, commonly known as the Imus Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral church in the city of Imus, in the province of Cavite, Philippines. The city which is the capital of the province also serves as the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Imus, the diocese that has jurisdiction over the entire Civil Province of Cavite. Enshrined inside the cathedral is the original, miraculous and canonically crowned image of Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Imus. The said title of the Blessed Virgin Mary serves as the titular patroness of the Diocese of Imus, Province of Cavite as implied by then pope, now a saint, John XXIII. Saint John the Baptist is also considered as the secondary patron saint of the city. The current parish priest and rector of the cathedral is Rev. Msgr. George Morales, Vicar General of the Diocese. The church itself features the longest Holy week procession in the province of Cavite with at least 70 floats and the country's 5th longest overall.

History

Establishment

In 1616, the Augustinian Recollects arrived in Imus and established a convent. The parish of Imus started as a chapel-of-ease in Brgy. Toclong, a sub-parish of Cavite Viejo. Recollect Father Pedro de San Buenaventura petitioned the government to convert Imus into an independent municipality in 1774. Imus, though, did not become a separate town and parish until October 3, 1795. Its poblacion and a provisional church was first established in an area currently known as Brgy. Bayan Luma. The parish was under the order of the Augustinian Recollects with Francisco de Santiago, O.A.R., its first assigned priest.

Construction of the present church

During the leadership of Fr. Nicolas Becerra, who served from 1821 to 1840, he advocated the move of the town center to Brgy. Balangon, its present location. The construction of the parish church of Imus on the new location was started in 1823 using forced labor. The structure was made from stone and bricks. Its facade was patterned after the fifth Manila Cathedral by Fr. Juan de Uguccioni, which existed from 1760 to 1852.

Hacienda de San Juan de Imus

The early fathers were preoccupied with not just religious matters but also of economic concerns. The friars gradually bought parcels of land while some of these lands were donated by rich families. The Recollects were the first ones to buy parcels of land beginning in 1666 and their haciendas came to being in 1812. These areas, comprising the Hacienda de San Juan de Imus or the Hacienda de Imus, grew to include the whole towns of Imus, Dasmariñas, and Brgy. Binakayan in Kawit. The estate house of the hacienda, or the house of the friars, was located along Imus River at the southern end of the Bridge of Isabel II, a Spanish bridge built by the priest-engineers of the Recollects. Citizens of Imus were required to pay rent to live and tilled the lands of Imus.

Secularization

The Hacienda de Imus was sold by the Recollect Corporation on March 31, 1894 to the Fomento de la Agricultura de Filipinas, a corporation in Madrid, for 4,000,000 pesetas. It was later sold to the British Manila Estates Company, which eventually sold it to the U.S. controlled Philippine government for $1,045,000 in U.S. currency for distribution to the Filipinos, to win their favor, and to pacify the revolutionaries. The Church of Imus became secular in 1897.

Activities

Ministries

89.5 FM frequency is used by the Parish to broadcast Parish activities such as the recitation of the Rosary for the traditional Good Friday procession. Daily Mass, Vigil and Sunday Masses, as well as Masses for holy days of obligation celebrated in the Cathedral are also transmitted live through the same frequency.

Diocese of Imus

By virtue of the Apostolic Constitution Christi fidelium promulgated by Pope John XXIII on November 25, 1961, Cavite was created a separate bishopric from Manila after more than three hundred years. On April 29, 1962, the Diocese of Imus was formally erected and established. The then Parish church of Imus was chosen to become the Cathedral of the Diocese, the seat of the bishop of Cavite, with the Virgin Mary under her title Our Lady of the Pillar, its titular patroness. The first leader of the diocese and bishop of Cavite is Msgr. Artemio Casas, originally from Meycauayan, Bulacan.

Bishop of Imus

The current Bishop of Imus is the Most Rev. Reynaldo G. Evangelista, O.F.S., D.D., previously bishop of the Diocese of Boac and a native of Batangas, who was appointed by Pope Francis on April 8, 2013, his first pontifical appointment in the Philippines. He replaced Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle after his installation as the Archbishop of Manila in December 12, 2011. Bishop Evangelista was installed as the fifth Bishop of Imus on June 5, 2013.

Historical marker

The cathedral was declared a structure of historical significance with the placing of a historical marker by then National Historical Institute of the Philippines on November 13, 2006.

Coronation of the patroness of the Diocese of Imus

The image of the patroness of the Imus Cathedral, Our Lady of the Pillar of Imus, was canonically crowned on December 3, 2012 by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. It was originally scheduled for November 26 but the elevation of Archbishop Tagle into a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI necessitated the move.

Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar

Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar
Vicar Forane: Rev Fr. Benjamin Francisco

Parishes

Chapels