Basilica Minore de San Pedro Bautista

The Basilica Minore de San Pedro Bautista (Minor Basilica of Saint Pedro Bautista), also known as the San Francisco del Monte Church and alternatively as Santuario de San Pedro Bautista, is a minor basilica and parish church in the San Francisco del Monte district of Quezon City, Philippines. It is one of the oldest churches in the country and the oldest in the city, having been founded in 1590. The church is dedicated to its founder Padre Pedro Bautista, a Spanish missionary from Ávila, Spain, one of the 26 Christians martyred in Japan in 1597.

The shrine belongs to the Diocese of Cubao under the Vicariate of Saint Pedro Bautista. It is also under the administration of the Franciscans or the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), from the Franciscan Province of Saint Pedro Bautista.

The parish covers six barangays, namely: Damayan, Del Monte, Mariblo, Paraiso, Sta. Cruz, and Talayan. It is bounded by Pat Senador St. to the west, Quezon Avenue to the east, Araneta Avenue to the south, and Judge Juan Luna Street to the north.

History
When Pedro Bautista was elected custos, an official of the Franciscans, he saw the need for a secluded place where the missionaries could recharge physically, mentally and spiritually. He found a hilly area which he deemed conducive for meditation, and on February 17, 1590, then Governor-General Santiago de Vera granted the land to the Franciscan Order.

The town of San Francisco del Monte back then was an elevated area of 250 ha with thick woods, surrounded by a creek and eight water springs. Father Pedro Bautista built a little convent and a chapel made of bamboo and nipa palm. He dedicated the chapel to Our Lady of Montecelli and the place was opened as a house of retreat for missionaries, as a novitiate house, and as a place for reclusion of government officials.

The chapel was replaced by a wooden structure in 1591 and in 1593, clay and natural stones were used for fortification, which was also the time when the convent was constructed. The chapel was rebuilt using adobe in 1599 as designed by the architect Domingo Ortigas. The reconstruction was funded by Don Pedro Salazar, whereas the expansion of the convent was made possible by donations from Captain Domingo Ortiz de Chagoya.

The chapel was destroyed during the Limahong-led uprising in 1639 when the Chinese rebels used the church as headquarters. The 1645 earthquake completely destroyed the church and the convent, leaving both structures unattended for 39 years.

Construction of the present church


Reconstruction efforts were done but were halted in 1688 because the place was declared unfit for habitation. Construction resumed in 1696 under the supervision of Fr. Francisco de Mondéjar and through the generosity of a pious person, Don Tomás de Endaya, and the stone church was completed in 1699. The convent was also reconstructed alongside the church. It was also during this time when the Baroque altar was installed. The new stone church was dedicated to then newly beatified Blessed Pedro Bautista and to his companion martyrs who were beatified by Pope Urban VIII on September 14, 1627 (later canonized on June 8, 1862, by Pope Pius IX).

Repairs were made in 1874 by a lay brother named Gabino Perez.

In 1895, the friars abandoned the place, and the following year at the time of the Cry of Balintawak, the Filipino revolutionary forces occupied the church. In 1898, during the Philippine–American War, the American soldiers occupied the church. Then, it was left idle until it was repaired in 1912. In 1914, the church was blessed and a town fiesta was held to honor Saint Pedro Bautista.

Independent parish and expansion
On November 11, 1932, the church was declared its own separate parish named in honor of its founder and patron saint, Pedro Bautista. Before the decree, the parish church belonged to a parish in Caloocan (then a town northwest of San Francisco del Monte). A historical marker was placed at the facade of the old church by the Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) in 1936 for its historical significance.

Plans to expand the church were approved in 1969. Construction started in April 1969 with Arturo Mañalac as the architect. The original stone church was expanded by removing the northeastern wall and the new nave was constructed northeastward from the wall. With the renovation, the original church structure became the sanctuary space while the original facade and apse now appears like semitransepts of the present church. They are separated from the present sanctuary by a reinforced concrete wall with a tall archway separated from the sanctuary by wooden partitions. The former Baroque altars became side altars and sacristy of the church. There was a huge crucifix at the center of the sanctuary and the floor was changed to marble. The expanded church was dedicated on January 30, 1971.

In 1989, the three-century old Baroque altars were transferred to the main sanctuary in time for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of San Francisco del Monte on February 17, 1990. Because of this, the huge crucifix adorning the altar was removed. This would be later installed at the choirloft during the church's renovation in 2019.

On February 5, 1997, the parish marked the 400th Anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Pedro Bautista. On February 25, 2001, the parish church was declared an archdiocesan shrine and the name was changed to Santuario de San Pedro Bautista in view of its historical and religious significance to the Archdiocese of Manila. In 2003, the church became part of the newly erected Diocese of Cubao.

Elevation to a minor basilica
The Diocese of Cubao announced on July 9, 2020, that the Holy See, on June 13 of that year, had bestowed the title of minor basilica upon the parish. It is the seventeenth minor basilica in the Philippines and the second in the diocese after the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The church was solemnly declared a minor basilica on September 14.

Architectural features
The church was built in the California Mission architecture. In the facade are four niches with statues of the Four Evangelists - Saint Mark, Saint Luke, Saint Matthew and Saint John. Inside the sanctuary are the three Baroque altarpieces with statues of Christian saints. A life-size image of Saint Pedro Bautista that was added during the 400th anniversary of San Francisco del Monte, is enshrined at the center niche in the middle altarpiece. Above him is a Madonna and Child statue of Our Lady of Monticelli. The left Baroque altarpiece is occupied with St. Clare of Assisi with Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order, above her. In the right reredos is Saint Anthony of Padua with Saint Francis of Assisi occupying the top niche.

The church is oriented in a northeast–southwest direction, featuring a rectangular plan with a width of 20 m and a length of 50 m.

Vicariate of San Pedro Bautista
The church is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cubao under the vicariate forane of San Pedro Bautista. Aside from the basilica, the vicariate covers the following churches in Quezon City:


 * Immaculate Conception Parish, Damar Village
 * Most Holy Redeemer Parish, San Francisco del Monte
 * National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
 * St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Cloverleaf, Balintawak
 * Sta. Perpetua Parish, Barangay San Jose
 * Sta. Teresita del Niño Jesus Parish, Barangay Santa Teresita
 * Santo Domingo Church

Pastoral team

 * Fr. Bernardo M. Lanuza, OFM (Parish Priest)
 * Fr. Elias E. Manlangit Jr., OFM (Friary Guardian)
 * Fr. Esmeraldo T. Enalpe, OFM (Parochial Vicar/House Vicar)
 * Fr. Percival P. Tayem, OFM (Bursar)
 * Fr. Fernardo B. Radin Jr., OFM (Master of Postulants)
 * Br. Temoteo S. Gulay, OFM (Resident Friar)

Parish priests

 * Fr. Mariano Montero, OFM (1932–1933)
 * Fr. Jose Agundez, OFM (1933–1935)
 * Fr. Francisco Santos, OFM (1935–1938)
 * Fr. Blas Garcia, OFM (1938–1939),
 * Fr. Alejandro Carrasco, OFM (1939–1943)
 * Fr. Angel Portalatin, OFM (1943–1945)
 * Fr. Gerardo Chicano, OFM (1945–1954)
 * Fr. Roberto Mangubat, OFM (1954–1960)
 * Fr. Silvestre Murillo, OFM (1960–1964)
 * Fr. Segundino Blanco, OFM (1964–1966)
 * Fr. Jesus Martinez, OFM (1966–1967)
 * Fr. Agapito Diez, OFM (1967)
 * Fr. Jose Barullo, OFM (1967–1968)
 * Fr. Leon Ramos, OFM (1968–1969)
 * Fr. Agapito Diez, OFM (1969–1983)
 * Fr. Alberto Baldo, OFM (1983–1989)
 * Fr. Jimmy Giron, OFM (1989–1995)
 * Fr. Romeo Gil Abesamis, OFM (April 1995-November 1995)
 * Fr. Cielo Almazan, OFM (1995-April 1996)
 * Fr. Roberto Manansala, OFM (1996–2002)
 * Fr. Reu Jose Galoy, OFM (April 2002 – 2006)
 * Fr. Carlos Santos, OFM (2006-December 2009)
 * Fr. Romeo Floralde, OFM (December 2009-April 2010)
 * Fr. Alberto Marfil, OFM (2010-2013)
 * Fr. Edwin Peter Dionisio, OFM (2013–2019)
 * Fr. Irineo R. Tactac, OFM (2019–2022)
 * Fr. Bernardo M. Lanuza, OFM (2022–present)