The Manila Cathedral, or the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica, is situated in the district of Intramuros, Manila. Originally, this church was the "Church of Manila," which was established and under the management of the Diocese of Mexico in 1571, but later in 1579, it became a separate diocese.
The history of Manila Cathedral - it also faced different obstacles; the first structure was made of nipa, wood, and bamboo, and was damaged and destroyed several times because of fire. Later in 1592, it was reconstructed using stone. On the same location, in 1614, a third structure was built but was again destroyed by an earthquake. With the help of the Archbishop and pilgrims, a fourth structure was built. As time went by, replacement structures were also damaged several times. The structure that we are seeing today is the seventh structure, with Romanesque-Byzantine influences, constructed from 1870 to 1879. Although there were a lot of restorations made.
The structure underwent several reconstructions and retrofitting. Just recently, in 2014, it was reopened after the retrofitting process; this is to make sure that the structure will withstand any natural disasters like earthquakes, after what happened to some of the century-old churches in Visayas. The recent interior looks great and has a modern touch.
