Historical Church: Cathedral of St. William the Hermit of San Fernando, La Union

Taken by Daday with our ever reliable green car we named Froggy (the silent member of JADSpirits)

Cathedral of St. William the Hermit, also known as the San Fernando Cathedral, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese in the City of San Fernando, La Union. St. William the Hermit Church was originally situated at Pindangan, now known as Barrio San Vicente. In 1759, Augustinian friar, Padre Jose Torres, convinced the two settlements to fuse into Pindangan (dry fish). He and the natives built a church under the patronage of Saint William the Hermit.


In 1765, Pindangan was renamed San Fernando after the Catholic King of Spain, under parish priest, Friar Fernando Rey.

The Cathedral's patron saint is William of Maleval (or William the Great, died 10 February 1157), the founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites, a branch of the Hermits of St. Augustine. The town feast is celebrated every February 10.

We arrived at the church in time for the nine o'clock mass and chose to sit in the second row. Unfortunately, the mass is in Ilocano...so we just offered a simple prayer and left.

I was trying to capture what I fondly called a "sky shot" (ant's view to Daday and to others, worm's view) when the umbrella lady appeared. Submitted by Dada under the theme "Umbrellascape" in one of the photo sharing site. 

Other Historical Churches in La Union We Plan to Visit

Below information is taken from http://www.launion.gov.ph/page.php?34.

• Basilica of Our Lady of Charity (Agoo) - Situated at the center of the aged town of Agoo, the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity has stood for scores of centuries now as one of the long venerated configurations of the Virgin in the Philippines. It was founded in 1578.

• St. John the Baptist Parish (San Juan) - Be drifted to the past by the perfect red brick panorama of San Juan Church and convent together with the solemnly that envelopes it. Established in 1707.

• Sts. Peter and Paul Parish (Bauang) - One of the oldest churches in the country, bear witness to more than four centuries and a quarter of La Union’s Christian legacy carefully preserved through the church walls made out of adobe stones and red brick structures of Bauang Church. The church was founded on 1580.

• St. Michae the Archangel Parish (Bacnotan) -Witness the birth of Christianity in the north with one of the oldest churches in La Union, Bacnotan Church was constructed in the period of 1817 to 1819 under the leadership of the Augustinian priests in devotion to St. Michael the Archangel. 

• St. Christopher Parish (Bangar) -  Constructed in 1696 by Fr. Francisco Alviar, a learned Augustinian priest born in Leaño, Santander, Spain who died in Bangar in 1698. This structure is also known as the only church in the Philippines with three belfries.