Boljoon's Patrocino de Maria Parish

After Oslob, our next stop was the town of Boljoon.  Boljoon is a town away from Oslob and it took us about thirty minutes to get there since we took just a tricycle.  

Boljoon is most famous for its old church as it is said that it is the oldest remaining original stone church in Cebu.  According to this signage, the National Historical Institute declared it a National Historical Landmark in 1999. The following year, the National Museum declared it as a National Cultural Treasure.

Inside, the church was even more impressive though it smelled of bat droppings.

I was impressed with its colorful ceiling.

Other interesting details are its altar and pulpit.

Everything in the church looks ornate.

Just look at how intricate these wood carvings are.

Before leaving the church, I took this as a parting shot.

Oslob's Immaculate Conception Parish Church

From Tumalog Falls, we hurriedly freshened up and checked out of our accommodations so we can proceed with our tour.

Our next stop was Oslob's Immaculate Conception Parish Church.  According to its signage, the church was founded in 1830, was twice razed by fire (in 1955 and in 2008) and restored just this 2010.

It does look interesting.  Too bad we were not able to go inside.  

Siquijor's St. Francis de Assisi Church

St. Francis de Assisi Church and Bell Tower was our next stop after our tour of Guiwanon Spring Park Resort.  This church was built in 1783 by Secular priests.  Unfortunately, it was closed when we were there.  

Seeing the church, I couldn't help but notice that contrary to what is usually seen in most Siquijor brochures, the church and the bell tower are not beside each other as the latter is at least a good 20 meters from the former.  I thus decided to make separate entries in my blog for both.

Our Lady of Divine Providence Church

After Cambugahay Falls, our next stop on my itinerary were Salagdoong Forest and Salagdoong Beach but Noel asked us to check the Our Lady of Providence Church first.

Like Lazi Church, the exterior of the church showed its old beginnings.  It's smaller though. Here's what the inside of this church looks like. 

On the right side of the entrance was this door with a circular stained glass. 

When we reached the altar, Noel said that the reason he brought us here was that he wanted to show us the statue of St. Rita of Cassia who he said is the patron of widows and the desolate.  He then gave us a brief narration of how she wanted to be a nun but was instead forced by her parents to marry.  The man she married was an alcoholic who was also abusive and unfaithful to her.  When he was killed by his enemies, St. Rita dissuaded her two sons from avenging the death of their father to the point that she asked God to intercede.  Her sons later died of natural causes.  

After that, she became a nun but even her entrance was said to be a miracle as she was found by the sisters inside the convent in the morning even when the night before, the doors to the monastery were locked.  It was said she was transported inside the convent by her patron saints St. John the Baptist, St. Augustine, and St. Nicholas of Tolentino.  She is thus also credited as the saint of the impossible.

Despite this, Noel said that most visitors of this church would get scared once they saw St. Rita's statue up close.

And I really couldn't blame them because the statue held a skull and had such a grim expression on her face.

Before leaving the church, I took this photo of a painting on its wall.

 And its bell tower.

Lazi's St. Isidore the Farmer Church

According to the signage, the Church of Saint Isidore the Farmer or San Isidro Labrador in Lazi, Siquijor was built in 1857 by the Order of Augustinian Recollects under the supervision of Friar Toribio Sanchez, O.A.R.  The church was built using stones from the sea and hard wood.  This was eventually finished my Filipino artisans in 1884.

When we were there, the church was ongoing renovation though visitors were still allowed to enter it.

Inside, I was struck at how big the church was and how far the entrance was to the altar making any bride's walk down the aisle very romantic.

Then my attention was drawn to this.

As I walked down the grand aisle towards the altar, I noticed that it too was ongoing renovation.

Above, I was amazed by the dome that according to Noel served as the choir's area back in the old days.

Then I found this pulpit that reminded me of another old church in Bohol as it was the first and only church I saw with a pulpit like this.