St. Isidore the Farmer Parish Church and the Largest Convent in Asia

 

I come from the town of Lazi, Siquijor, and one of our pride is our convent, which is considered the largest convent in Asia. Growing up, I was very, very proud of this fact. Until the time I was able to study Southeast Asia history and ventured outside of the country that I realized that,
(1) the Philippines is the only predominantly Catholic country in Southeast Asia, (2) even if the Philippines is predominantly Catholic, most of the Catholic churches are located in very few areas in the country, most specifically only in the Luzon and Visayas areas, (3) Catholicism in other SE Asian countries is not predominant and Catholic settlements were far and in between around SE Asia. Which made me realize that while I am very proud that ours is the largest convent in Asia, it is best to set that description to the right perspective. Nevertheless, I am still proud and even if it is not the largest convent in Asia, I hold many dear memories with the convent.

Photo by: Joel Lopez

The grand staircase at the convent.

Empty hallway at the convent.

The church and the convent are located across each other. Many people would visit the church first, but I suggest you visit the convent first, go to the second floor to the museum. This museum is the only museum in town, and a visit here will give you an introduction not just to the church but also to the town and the people of Lazi. After that I suggest you roam around the convent, including the kitchen, because someone might be cooking and they might invite you to join lunch. The convent's second floor is almost always empty and is a good place to meditate (sit on the decade's old chairs placed all over the second floor).

At the ground floor of the convent, ask where the priests' former swimming pool was and the locals would point you to the back of the convent, directly below the azotea near the museum. This pool gave me chills growing up and we used to frequent this during kindergarten (there is a school in the convent premises). When I read Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose (the scene where one monk was found dead at the swimming pool), I got more scared of the swimming pool. I'm a scaredy-cat.

Photo by: Joel Lopez

Now, it's time to cross the street and go to the church. Start with the front door because that is not just the most obvious way to enter a church, but the front door is almost always the only door open during weekdays. The church has five doors. I must say our church is not that grand/opulent (at least in comparison to other churches in the Philippines), but our church was created by local people using interesting local materials.

Baptistry.

"The church was built by the Augustinian Recollects in 1884. The walls are made using the rubble construction technique where the stones and corals are lumped one on top of the other and bonded by lime mortar. The facade of the church and most of the convent walls and columns are made using cut stone construction, where coral stones are cut into shapes and joined using some interlocking device." - Lim-Castillo [1]

Photo by: Joel Lopez

Photo by: Joel Lopez

Photo by: Joel Lopez

If you are not an architecture lover or history buff, you won't be impressed with the church because it seems very plain. But you can meditate and pray inside and no one will bother you. You can even use the area near the altar for prayers. At the center of the church, you can look up and see the stars. Literally. I love this feature of the church. Because when you die and you have your funeral mass here, you are looking at the stars. However, it is scary when you are still alive and you look up and see someone looking down on you. It is because there is a viewing deck above. This viewing deck is now off limits, but it must have been scary if this was used by the parish priests (or the altas) of long agos.

Photo by: Joel Lopez

Photo by: Joel Lopez

My favorite place in the church grounds though would be the grotto at the far right if you are facing the church. You need to get out of the church grounds and go to the big acacia tree. Behind that is the grotto. Almost all of my summer afternoons in May were spent here for Flores de Mayo. My next favorite thing in the church grounds is the church ground itself. Admire the walls. They were cut and formed by the locals. Have an #ootd taken at one of the huge doors. Go to the back of the church and enjoy a moment of serenity. My favorite thing to do when I was younger was look for some kind of seeds that birds drop, open those seeds, and eat them. They tasted like pistachio nuts.


Suggested Readings:

[1] Lim-Castillo, P. (2007). Eggs in Philippine Church Architecture and its Cuisine. In Eggs in Cookery: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery 2006. Oxford Symposium.