It was my last day in the Province of Capiz. After visiting Kalikasan Falls in Camp Peralta at the break of dawn, the group has now broken company—each one going off to his own destination. Me, I was gonna go back to Kalibo in the province of Aklan, where my flight back to Manila was.

En route, I passed through the sleepy town of Mambusao.

While waiting at a shed across the Mambusao town plaza for the bus, I spied upon a curious-looking church some meters from where I was standing, the St. Catherine of Alexandria Church.

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I’ve seen quite a lot of Catholic churches in the Philippines during my stint as a traveler but I’ve never seen anything quite like Mambusao Church. It’s façade is definitely unique with its spidery curving upper portion. It sort of reminds me of a Tim Burton movie setting.

It was high noon when I arrived at Mambusao and the faded yellow façade of St. Catherine Church shone brightly in the midday sun. Even without a National Historical Institute marker, I somehow knew that this structure has seen its fair share of history.

Unfortunately, I can’t find anyone to ask about it during my visit nor can I find anything about its past, even on the Internet.

It’s cross-laden wooden door was closed but I found a side entrance to check St. Catherine’s interior. Before entering, I found an unpainted wall laden with intricate relief. It looked as if the wall is finished with lime, a substance made from a conglomerate of wood and corals used in finishing Spanish-era churches.

There wasn’t much to see inside the Mambusao Church. The ceiling was non-existent, due perhaps to the renovation that time. The floors were also bare and the retablo, very simple.

One can however see how thick its walls were, another indication perhaps of its bygone roots.

With my curiosity satiated, I went back out and took one last snap of Mambusao’s St. Catherine of Alexandria Church. Temperature was rising fast and my backpack was already starting to weigh me down. I went back to the nearby bus shed, bought a pack of roasted peanuts, switched my iPod to Ryan Adams and continued my vigil for my Kalibo ride.

St. Catherine of Alexandria Church
Address: Jones Quezon Street, Mambusao, Capiz
Contact Number: (036) 647-0075
Mass Schedule:
GPS Coordinates Map: 11.430241, 122.595958

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