National Shrine and Parish of San Antonio (Pila Church) — Attraction in Pila

The Church of Pila is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua - the first Antonine parish church in the Philippines. in 2019 the church was designated as the National Shrine of San Antonio de Padua. The first church in Pila was built out of hard wood and bamboo and inaugurated in 1581 in Pagalangan (today's Victoria; at that time Pagalangan was part of Pila). In 1599 permission was given by the Superior Gobiernoto to build a stone church. Its construction was completed in 1617. Due to flooding in Pagalangan, the church and rectory were demolished and transferred to their current site in 1800. Church suffered during the 1863 and 1880 earthquakes. Beside the entrance to the church, within fenced plot, there are 2 old church bells. The larger one bears the inscription “San Antonio de Pila” and a date 1681. Apparently, it is the fourth-oldest (some say third-oldest) church bell in the Philippines. The smaller one has the inscription “S. Clara...

We had to come back on Black Saturday to do the 14 Stations of the Cross as parking was a problem on Maundy Thursday and we were already running late for a paid lunch reservation in Pagsanjan. Anyway, parking was clear on Saturday. I noticed the stations did not match our reference but both were 14. The interior has changed since our (my wife) wedding in 1998. But the exterior maintained its old touch. Also worth noting are the clean rest rooms. The office was closed considering it was a holiday. I was to...

One of the many reasons why I am proud and will always be proud to be a Pileños. Our church is now a Shrine of St. Anthony. This church will always be a part of me and my childhood. I served as a choir and a member of Saint Anthony Vocal Ensemble. Happy and blessed that a lot of people from other part of the Philippines spending their time to visit our Shrine even on their regular Sundays ❤️😇 Come and visit too guys! You will...