Blessing in 1925
Arco

Where is this now?

Its neo-gothic facade and church design was sketched by Brother Arnulf Rademaker, a German SVD missionary carpenter who also redesigned the Bangued Cathedral's facade and belltower. Read the Ilocano story about Doña Rosa Vasquez and this small church's construction here.Below are some excerpts from the book "Along the Mission Trails in the Philippines" by Rev. Bruno Hagspiel, SVD pp. 139-140 and also quoted in "History of the SVD - Abra Mission in the Philippines 1909-1956" by Rev. Fr. Miguel Hergesheimer, SVD pp. 48-49.Protestanism had made but little headway in the capital town of Bangued. When Aglipayanism attempted to secure a foothold in Bangued, Divine Providence interfered. The Aglipayan priest became involved in a quarrel with Gregorio Aglipay, its founder who thereupon suspended him. To get even, the priest took a wife and sold the church with all its goods and chattels.The above event helped Apo Doro (Fr. Theodore Buttenbruch) to bring back many erring sheep into the fold. Eight thousand souls returned, and the big church began to prove inadequate to accommodate the growing number of Christians. So the good priest Apo Doro seriously considered erecting a new church for the Christians in the western section of the town. Certain noble souls declared themselves willing to undertake this project. Particularly, the kind hearted and generous women who gave unselfishly to the project were Francisca Vasquez and her sister Rosa, and Engracia Beneza and her sister Placida. They practiced great self denials in order to bring about the building of this church. Francisca displayed the keenest interest of the group to adorn the high altar. She procured a five feet crucifix from Manila. Apo Doro blessed it, but meantime, while the church was still being built, she has to keep it in her room and prayed before it night and day. Here she often expressed the wish that she be buried at its foot.But every stone added to the new chapel added fuel to the hatred of many enemies of the Faith who were determined to stop it. As Francisca was the prime mover, she was selected to become the victim of Satan's malice. One night, while the rain poured down in torrents and the town was submerged in inky darkness (no light to be seen, save the flickering taper before the crucifix in Francisca's room), four assassins broke into Francisca's house, plunged a dagger into this noble woman and also killed her woman servant. There, at the foot of her crucifix, she laid, her heart pierced as had been her Saviour's.An outcry of horror arose from the whole community when the news of this detestable murder was known. During her interment, many followed her corpse to its last resting place. Her beautiful crucifix was yet to be installed over the high altar as soon as the church will be completed. It had been planned to be dedicated to the Church on May 3, 1922, but her murder brought indescribable diffuculties. For two years the building of the Church was stalled, the structure stood uncovered. There seemed to be no money forthcoming to furnish a roof or any of the other necessary building materials for its completion.