Bacolor Church (San Guillermo Church) in Pampanga is considered as the Cagsawa of the North. More than twenty years ago, Mt. Pinatubo erupted and many municipalities were left devastated, including Bacolor. This church was built in 1576 and was named after their patron saint San Guillermo Ermitaño. Destroyed by earthquakes and fire then was rebuilt in 1886.
Its original door entrance was buried with mud and ash, so the entrance today was the wide windows before. Its facade has a Baroque architecture that contains amazing detail. Even from afar, the gorgeous design is very noticeable. The municipality's residents, as well as the devotees of this church, opened their hands to build and make this religious spot rise again through Bayanihan. This church is functional and one of the prides of Pampanga.
Its convent was converted to an art gallery that houses old paintings, church relics and photos captured during Mt. Pinatubo eruption and how people stood up after the devastation. I stand 5 feet 6 inches but when I was standing inside the convent, my head almost hit the ceiling.
Originally, the church structure stands 12 meters high, but almost half of it were covered with lahar from the massive Pinatubo eruption. Regarding the ambiance out and inside of this church: during our 15 minutes stay, I was not relaxed for some reason, maybe because of how this church looks.
