Recognised as the oldest church in Bulacan Province of the Philippines, and the first site of the evangelisation by the Augustinian Order in Northern Luzon, the St. John the Baptist Church has been a witness on the country’s struggle during the Spaniards, Americans and Japanese Colonisation.

Founded in the year 1572 under the supervision of Augustinian priest Fr. Diego Vivar-Ordonez, local artisans experimented with various ornamentation on the baroque church’s most striking feature, the facade. Decorated with floral motifs and scrolls that gave an impression of a lavish, Mannerist style. Ten feet under the church was a tunnel that, according to history, was used by priests during the Spanish Regime to keep gold, religious statues, and ornate jewellery hidden from the sight of robbers. It is in this tunnel as well, where fallen revolutionaries and Spaniards were buried during the Second World War.

It is also worth noting that at St. John the Baptist Church is where the Talangpaz sisters were baptised, namely Mother Dionisia Talangpaz and Mother Cecilia Rosa Talangpaz, the Filipino nuns who founded the Congregation of Augustinian Recollect Sisters. The church has more history to give and has more for you to learn, make sure to visit by when you’re in the vicinity of Calumpit!