Parish Church of Santiago Apostol of Compostela

Official Name: Archdiocesan Shrine of Santiago Apostol de Compostela[1]

Classification Status: Classified Historic Structures (covering all Colonial Churches and other Houses of Worship, per NHCP Res. No. 3, s. 1991)[1]

Town or City: Compostela

Year Declared: 1865[1]

Description:
The Archdiocesan Shrine of Santiago Apostol de Compostela, also known as St. James the Apostle Church or Compostela Church, is a Roman Catholic Church in Compostela, Cebu.

History
Declared a parish on July 21, 1865, it separated from the mother parish of Danao and appointed Fr. Manuel Alonzo as the first parish priest. The stone church was completed in 1866. The town, established in 1863 and named after a Spanish city believed to be the resting place of St. James the Elder, received archdiocesan shrine status on July 24, 2007, under Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.[2]

Architecture
Compostela Church is dedicated to the veneration to its patron, the apostle St. James the Elder, with an unadorned 19th-century facade. The entrance is a porte-cochere with Tuscan pilasters, and above it, an inscription reads, "Sr. Santiago Apostol de Compostela, Año de 1866" (St. James the Elder and Apostle, Year 1866). The side aisles and recessed pediment make up the facade's rest. The upper wings slope toward pilasters flanking the entrance door, terminating in three-bodied pinnacles. The distinctive feature is the elaborate, tapering, linear cornices on an otherwise plain pediment, pierced by a rose window. The puerta mayor is a massive arched door, flanked by narrower arched entrances.[2]

Source:
1. https://ncca.gov.ph/philippine-registry-cultural-property-precup/
2. https://www.theoldchurches.com/philippines/cebu/compostela/archdiocesan-shrine-of-santiago-apostol-de-compostela-cebu/