Tondo Church


The Minor Basilica and Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Niño, also known as Santo Niño de Tondo Parish or Tondo Church, is a Roman Catholic church in Tondo, Manila established by the Augustinians. It is the home of the second oldest Sto. Niño in the Philippines, next to the Sto. Niño De Cebu. The Tondo church is also the first parish church in Luzon erected by the May 3, 1572 statute of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus, with Tambobong, Kalookan, Betis, and Calumpit as its first visitas. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila. The church houses an image of the Infant Jesus which originally came from Acapulco, Mexico and was handed over by a wealthy merchant to the Archbishop of Manila at that time, who later turned it over to the parish priest of Tondo, Manila. Since 1572, the image of the Santo Niño has been enshrined in this church.

History

The church, one of the earliest churches established by the Spanish friars in Luzon, was founded by the Augustinians who were the first Catholic religious order to arrive in the Philippines. The Augustinian Convent in Tondo was approved by the provincial chapter on May 3, 1572. Its visitas were Lubao, Betis and Calumpit. Fray Alonzo Alvarado, OSA was the first Augustinian religious to direct the church. In 1572, Tondo Church added visitas in northern suburbs, including Malolos. Through Fray Diego Ordoñez de Vivar, Tondo extended its ecclesiastical territory to Morong.
Construction of the first stone monastery is believed to have started in 1611 under Fray Alonso Guerrero, then minister of Tondo. The convent of Tondo was relieved of its ten percent contribution to Manila in 1620 due to the needed costly repairs of the convent and the church. This resolution was repeated the following year due to needed assistance to be provided for the father provincial who was then staying in Tondo.
During 1625, Fray Antonio de Ocampo pawned the convent for 800 pesos, the sum to be spent during a three-year term improvement of the house facilities like the cenador, staircase, etc. It is believed that the construction of the church and convent was finalized at around this time.
In 1641, the prior was authorized to repair the church due to the turmoil caused by the Sangleys and in addition, water cisterns were installed to save budget for purchasing. Four years after, the church was in need of immediate repair because it was devastated again by the 1645 Luzon earthquake. The repairs and restoration were done and the "church looked magnificent and strong in its full masonry construction".
This magnificence was short-lived because, in 1661, Governor Sabiniano Manrique de Lara who feared Koseng, a Chinese pirate from Hermosa Island might fortify himself inside the structure. He ordered that the structure be pulled down. According to a clause of the Chapter of 1661, "the convent suffered so much during the war of the Sangleys that now it cannot be sufficient by itself". The income of Sangley stores, the alms for the souls in Purgatory, some donations and tax exemption were utilized for the rebuilding of the church and the convent.
In 1714, the Private Definitory proposed that the church and convent of Tondo pay back from their own properties the funds that were spent for the reconstructions of the church. In 1728, the convent used 2,000 pesos from the provincial funds to renovate and enlarge the church. The facade and the two towers that were about to fall were reconstructed in 1734. This rebuilding was done during the term of Fr. Diego Bergaño. The building was damaged again by the earthquake of 1740 and was repaired the next year.
The church was heavily damaged again by another earthquake in 1863 and was rebuilt for the third time by Fr. Manuel Diez Gonzalez. The restoration was completed by Fr. Casimiro Herrero, parish priest of Tondo from 1874 to 1880, who followed the plans of architect Luciano Oliver in 1873. For the first time in the country, steel framing was used for the media naranja dome and iron sheets for the roofing. Condrado Gregorio took over the construction from Oliver and used aramadura de hierro, which came from England. Fr. Mariano Gil led the construction of the cemetery during his priorship from 1889 to 1898. The fence was designed by architect Gregorio N. Santos. Walls made of stone were imported from Guadalupe and Meycauayan. The entire construction project costed 2,150 pesos.
The organ was imported from the renowned Amezua Organeros of Barcelona, Spain and was installed in 1893. It had one main keyboard with 56 keys and a pédalier with 19 keys and four combinations. In 1898, Fr. Pablo Alvarez bought a molave door for 1470 pesos to be used as the main entrance door.
Church services came to a halt when it was used as a cuartel during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. The services were held in the house of Primo Arambulo at Santiago de Vera Street. During the last days of the Japanese occupation, the church was reopened for thousands of refugees.
In 1997, aside from major repairs, Carillon bells were installed under the term of Msgr. Emmanuel Sunga as Parish Priest.
On January 12, 2019, it was announced by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle that it was to be elevated into an archdiocesan shrine, which happened on February 5, 2019. The church's rank was then elevated to that of a minor basilica by a decree issued by Pope Leo XIV on November 9, 2025, with the elevation taking effect on November 24, 2025.

Architectural style

The structural envelope is characterized by minimal ornamentation with Ionic rectangular pilasters attached at the main facade. Massive buttresses also support the unproportional domes of the bell towers. There are also blind arched openings that contrast with the rectangular voids and a triangular pediment. The neoclassical architectural style has its big influence the construction of the church and convent. In its interiors, it is composed of a main central nave that is flanked by two aisles that are linked by solid columns. The internal space spans in length, in width and in height.

Feast of the Santo Niño de Tondo

The feast day of Santo Niño in Tondo is celebrated in the third Sunday of January. The fiesta in Tondo has the biggest participation in Manila, not only because Tondo is the most populous district in the city and poorest but perhaps because of the many anecdotes connected with the Santo Niño of Tondo.
According to the Philippine Historical Commission, the people of Tondo celebrated the feast day with a fluvial procession that "attracted thousands of visitors". Tondo's terrain at that time consisted of waterways and tributaries which were connected to Manila Bay, a probable reason why the present stone church of Tondo was constructed on elevated ground to prevent sea waters from inundating the Church.
Nick Joaquín writes, "historically, the devotion to Santo Niño outranks all others because the first church in the Philippines was built to enshrine an image of the Santo Niño". In his book Almanac for Manileños, Joaquín describes previous celebrations of the fiesta:
The fiesta of the Santo Niño has since been called the "Lakbayaw Festival". The name of the festival is a portmanteau of the Tagalog-Filipino words lakbáy and sayáw, with the intended meaning of "a joyful journey with the Lord". The current name has become popular because of the many contingents of dancers—particularly males—who take part on the parade on the streets of Tondo on the Saturday before the third Sunday of January – a homage of the dancing of the former land segments of what was once the fluvial procession.