Saint Joseph the Patriarch Parish Church 3.85

Saint Joseph the Patriarch Parish Church is a Baroque church located in the municipality of Aguilar in Pangasinan, Philippines. The parish was established in 1808 under the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. It was transferred to then newly created Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan in May 19, 1928 and to the Diocese of Alaminos in June 28, 1985.HistoryThe creation of the settlement as a parish did not accompany its founding as a municipality. Aguilar did not have its own resident priest at once. It awaited the availability of Dominican personnel; pending the arrival of its own Parish Priest, Fr. Juan Vela of the Parish of Salasa, took care of the town’s pastoral needs. It was through the efforts of Fr. Vela that the first convent of Aguilar was built. Fr. Juan Vela did not stay long in Aguilar because the inhabitants promised to contribute to make up the difference between 500 401 tribute in order to have their own curate. In 1808, it was finally granted spiritual independence when it was assigned its own Parish Priest in the person of Fr. Bernardo Torre.It was through the effort of Fr. Bernardo Torre that the first church of Aguilar was built. However, the construction of the more enduring concrete church and tower was begun by Fr. Benito Sanchez Fraga in 1846. The concrete church was the first to be finished. It was solemnly blessed on July 4, 1853. The church tower was completed much later in 1875 during the tenure of Fr. Juan Cordova.Also, in 1859, Fr. Lucio Asencio started the work on the church ceiling by having some logs sawn. The master carpenter at that time was maestro Cenon, who was also the master carpenter when the church of Alaminos was built. The ceiling was completed during Fr. Agustin Gallego’s time in 1867.