Sta. Monica Church: The Church That Houses the Bell, Pan-ay, Capiz

The town of Pan-ay is located 20 minutes southeast of Roxas City. It is considered as one of the oldest towns in the country. It is founded by the Augustininan friars in 1581 and became the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines next to Cebu.

The Santa Monica Church in Pan-ay is also known as Panay Church. It was built in 1884 on the site of an earlier church built in 1774 which was gravely damaged by a massive typhoon that occurred on January 17, 1875.

I was impressed by the grand structure of Sta. Monica Church — made of coral stones and measured 70 m long, 25 m wide and 18 m high. The walls were amazingly three meters thick; the floor was covered with marble. Its structure was shaped in the Latin cross with one large central altar and four lateral ones, each one fitted with gorgeously decorated and gilded tablets of hardwood, decorated with various polychromed statues of high artistic quality.

I was amazed at the sandstone walls lining the exterior walls of this church. Unlike its Baroque interior, the facade of the church was simply decorated by pillars and horizontal ledges with niches for the life-sized statues of the Augustinian saints, Tomas de Villanueva and Monica. The church has five-storey belfry which houses a gigantic bell and it is in fact the largest church bell in the whole of Asia. This was cast by Juan Reina in 1884, using sacks of coins given by the people of the town and it weighs more than 10 tonnes. Going up the belfry requires permission from the parish, therefore you have to visit the parish office to ask for a guide. Note, there is always one or more volunteers taking care of the tour guiding needs. Together with my guide, along with a couple of youth volunteers, we went up the belfry to see the “Biggest catholic church bell in Asia”.

When you reach the top, you will be greeted by several other bells with the largest one hanging in the middle. These bells still serve the church during Sunday masses and on special occasions. Locales call it “dakung lingganay” (the big bell). This colossal bell can be heard within 8 km radius and measures 5 feet in height and 7 feet in diameter. It weighs approximately 10,400 kilograms. Pan-ay church is a must-see when visiting the province of Capiz and its neighboring provinces. It holds rich history and amazing culture that makes the travel worth the time, money and effort. In 1997, the church was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

The inscription in the bell reads “Soy la voz de Dios que llevare y ensalzare desde el principio hasta el fin de este pueblo de Panay para que los fieles de JesuCristo vengan a esta casa de Dios a recebir las gracias celestiales.” Meaning: I am God’s voice which I shall echo and praise from one end to the other end of Panay so that the faithful followers of Christ may come to the house of God to receive heavenly graces. (Blaze Q. Cantaros | St. Joseph Parish, Sta. Cruz)