The Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Plaza de la Basco, at the western end of Ongpin Street, is commonly known as Binondo Church (daily 5am–6.30pm).
It stands on the spot where Dominican priests established their church when they first came to Binondo in the seventeenth century, though the original building was destroyed by shelling in 1762 when the British invaded Manila and the Chinese were expelled.
The Dominicans left with the Chinese but returned in 1842 and completed the church you see today, a solid granite structure with an octagonal bell tower and elaborate retable, in 1854.
The church was badly damaged by bombing during World War II and new features include the canopy at the entrance and the strikingly colourful murals on the ceilings.
Depicting the life of Christ and the Assumption of the Virgin, these murals were not actually painted on the ceiling but were executed at ground level, then hoisted up.
The church is well known in the Philippines because it was where Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the Philippines’ first saint, served as a sacristan. Of Filipino and Chinese parentage, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard in 1636.
It was probably because of this that he was encouraged to go to Japan, where he was arrested in Nagasaki in 1637 for spreading Christianity, and was executed for refusing to renounce his faith. The Vatican canonized him in 1987.
Binondo Church is one of the oldest catholic churches in the Philippines. Every walls, nooks and crannies are meticulously paid attention to. The ceilings are painted with images of the 14 Stations of the cross and the ascension of the Blessed Virgin into heaven, creating a colorful and aesthetically appealing eye-candy that will perfectly blend in on a grand celebration such as a wedding.
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