Manila Cathedral: Restoring A Monument To Faith, Architecture, And History will be available starting March 9, 2019

Upon the completion of the restoration works that were done in the Cathedral in 2012-2014, the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica Foundation Inc., led by Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, decided that it would be good to put the restoration process into some kind of a book, not only for posterity’s sake but more importantly to serve as a resource material for heritage conservation. Moreover, in realizing that it was already more than 20 years since the publication of the first book on the Cathedral, the foundation decided it was high time to make the project as a full-blown coffee table book befitting the status of the Mother Church of the country.

Thanks to the generosity of The Metrobank Foundation Inc., the production of the book was able to begin. Tapping the help of multi-awarded architectural historian and heritage conservationist Professor Gerard Lico, Ph.D. as the book’s Executive Editor, and the young and talented professional photographer Marc Henrich Go, the Foundation aims to produce a book at par with international publication standards.

One of the features of the book is the inclusion of never before seen archival photos and old architectural plans discovered by the team’s researchers, focusing on the postwar rebuilding that stretched from 1952-1958. This is also the first time that a professional photographer has taken high-resolution photos of the different structural details, works of art, and precious vessels of the Cathedral. These impressive photos are printed in wide spreads within the pages of the book. A section of the book is dedicated to the discussion of the restoration process done in 2012-2014, complete with the architectural reports and scans. The book, in the end, tries to unify the significance of faith and cultural heritage; of the story of the church as a structure and the Church as the faith story of the people.

The book will be available at the Manila Cathedral starting March 9, 2019, with a regular price of Php 2,500. For orders, please contact Ms. Donna Santos at 527-3093.