Navalas Church — Attraction in Buenavista

The history of this church is really interesting. It was built in 1880 and considered to be the oldest church in Guimaras Island. The facade of the church was made of coral rocks which is abundant in the area during the construction (coral rocks were hewn into stabs for the posts and walls of the church were bartered for woman's wraps (patadyong) and other goods). The church called its faithful even those who live in far flung barangays through a bell reportedly made of silver and gold alloy with a diameter of 1 meter long. This bell is also used to warn the inhabitants of approaching Muslim pirates who raided the island several times which later took the effort to take the bell away. And many more to tell :) Source: Navalas Church...

Navalas Church, also called San Isidro Labrador Parish Church is a century old church and the oldest in Guimaras province. Its facade was made of coral blocks while the interior walls were covered by cement plaster that was looking modern already. I went up to the balcony that is fronting the altar but it is not in use for choir also. A separate bell tower in front of the church is distinct to other churches because the arch serves as an entrance too. There were old grottos in its vicinity but no images of Saints was present. Overall, the Church is historical and many tourists are visiting when I was there. The schedule of Sunday mass is 6:30 A.M. for the first mass and 8:30 A.M. for the second mass. Date of...

Considered the oldest church in Guimaras Island, our tour guide mentioned that it used to house a grand bell, whose tolling can be heard all the way to Iloilo. However, it was stolen when the Moro pirates arrived. As the church has suffered a lot due to war and natural disasters, the only remaining original form is its facade, the rest were being renovated when we visited.

Aside from praying and giving donations, feel free to tour the church grounds and have pretty photos taken either from the front of the edifice, or from...