By Dennis Gorecho
“Linog! Linog!”
Those were the words I heard while talking over the phone with Father Victor Bompat of Stella Maris in Tagbilaran, Bohol, at 8:12 a.m. on October 15, 2013.
A few moments later, social media was flooded with reports that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake had struck Bohol and nearby provinces.
It later turned out that our brief conversation may have saved Fr. Bompat from falling debris. He was supposed to celebrate Mass inside the Dauis Church at that exact time when the earthquake struck, causing rocks and masonry to crash onto the altar area.
With its epicenter near the boundary of Sagbayan and Catigbian towns, the tremor lasted for about 30 seconds and became one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in recent history. It toppled centuries-old churches, split roads apart and left widespread destruction across Bohol.
The earthquake heavily damaged 25 churches in the Diocese of Tagbilaran and nine churches in the Diocese of Talibon.
Among the affected churches in the Diocese of Tagbilaran were those in Alburquerque, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Batuan, Calape, Catigbian, Corella, Cortes, Dimiao, Dauis, Garcia-Hernandez, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao, Sagbayan, Sevilla, Sikatuna, Tagbilaran, and Valencia.
Meanwhile, damaged churches in the Diocese of Talibon included those in Carmen, Clarin, Inabanga, Talibon, and Tubigon.
One of the most notable losses involved the painted ceilings that displayed biblical scenes and celestial imagery.
Many of these masterpieces featured trompe-l’œil works by Cebuano artists Raymundo Francia — dubbed “Cebu’s Michelangelo” — and Canuto Avila.
Francia was the artistic genius behind the enchanting murals found in the churches of Alburquerque, Anda, Balilihan, Carmen, Cortes, Dauis, Dimiao, Inabanga, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao, Sevilla, Tubigon, and Valencia.
It was Monsignor Juan Gorordo, the first Filipino bishop of Cebu from 1910 to 1932, who discovered Francia’s talent and recommended him to his friend, Fr. Natalio del Mar, the parish priest of Dauis, Bohol.
The Dauis Church, consecrated in 1923, became the first of Francia’s Boholano masterpieces.
From there, the tradition of painting church ceilings in Bohol spread rapidly.
Like Michelangelo, Francia often worked while lying on his back atop scaffolding constructed several meters above the church floor.
Despite the absence of modern mechanical equipment, he managed to adorn church ceilings with remarkable precision and meticulous craftsmanship that became uniquely his own. His signature technique was primarily trompe l’oeil, designed to create optical illusions of three-dimensional space and grandeur.
A ceiling is more than just a functional engineering feature. The word “ceiling” traces its roots to the Latin word caelum, meaning heaven or sky.
These ceiling paintings were not created merely for decoration. The murals served as “visual Bibles” meant to educate the faithful. Churches commissioned artists to paint walls and ceilings as a way of visually catechizing Filipinos through scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
Many of the murals portrayed episodes from the life of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and various saints.
Beyond their religious symbolism, the murals serve as enduring visual narratives of how sacred stories became woven into the very fabric of Boholano identity through church architecture and decorative arts.
Anachronistic elements also became increasingly common in some paintings, incorporating scenes of rural town life and local figures into Gospel narratives and medieval depictions of saints.
Art in sacred spaces seeks to represent and re-create divine realities, symbolizing the fusion of divinity and humanity.
For many churchgoers, the initial experience upon entering a church can range from a feeling of intimacy with God to an overwhelming sense of awe.
One of the most important factors shaping that emotional impact is the height of the ceiling. The higher the ceiling, the more powerful the sense of what may be described as a “Vision of Heaven on Earth.”
During my recent visit to my family’s hometown of Tubigon, I was once again mesmerized by Francia’s ceiling art inside the San Isidro Labrador Parish Church.
The church features the famed “Queen of Bohol Domes,” a majestic di sotto in su (foreshortened) painting depicting the coronation of Mary. Other murals portray the Seven Sacraments and the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Boholano artist Marc John Frontreras is among those involved in rehabilitation and conservation efforts for ceiling artworks heavily damaged either by the 2013 earthquake or by Typhoon “Odette.”
Frontreras noted that restoring and conserving church ceiling art involves complex and high-stakes challenges that require balancing structural, artistic and environmental considerations in order to preserve sacred history.
He stressed that the most common challenges include water damage, structural instability and the need to reverse improper restorations done in the past.
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“Peyups” is the moniker of the University of the Philippines.
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Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com or call 0908-866-5786./WDJ