st dominic de guzman cathedral

I fell in love with this church when I saw it, in its simplicity and quiet stillness. Hearing mass here makes you feel closer to God, as the quiet envelopes you. And the garden with arius trees is just lovely. This may not be the grandest of churches but its humbleness is precisely what makes it stand out.

Your trip to Batanes will not be complete without a visit to this charming Cathedral. The exterior is very charming while the inside though already renovated is charming in her own right.

I am not really that into churches but what struck me most about this church is the story that our tour guide told us. In this church and in all of the churches in Batanes, all of the statues have pure gold adornments which nobody guards. Why? Because that's how HONEST Ivatans are. I was so amazed by this story. It really made me admire the Ivatans and wished that all Filipinos could be like this outside of Batanes.

Our first night at Batanes was also the first simbang gabi, dec. 16. We attended the mass at this cathedral and we immediately felt as if we were one of the natives there. It didn't matter that the mass was said in ivatan. We just felt welcome.

We were told that the renovations went on for 12 years, hahaha. During our visit, you can see the newly painted structure in yellow. The grounds were kept clean and garden well maintained. The interior of the church was very nice and the renovations were obvious. This is one of the biggest church in Batanes with a long aisle, and it's categorized as a cathedral now. We didn't have the chance to walk around inside since a mass was going on, but we did get to the main entrance where we said a little prayer.

This, like most attraction's in Batanes, are old, simple and surrounded by natural beauty that will absolutely have you singing..."the hills are alive, with the sound of music" Really, not kidding! LOL

it was an old church located near the munipal buildings. The altar looks great but there are still some repairs being done at the rear portion of the Church. Be sure to visit this Church when you go to Basco and offer a prayer for you and your family.