Deemed as one of Davao City’s famous historical landmarks, the Metropolitan Church of Saint Peter, also known as San Pedro Cathedral, dates its origin to 1848.
The first makeshift chapel, dedicated to San Pedro, Roman Catholicism’s first pope, was built in its present location after the Moro village of Datu Bago at the mouth of Davao River fell in the hands of the Spanish-led expedition of Don Jose Oyanguren y Cruz.
The church, originally constructed from timber and light materials such as bamboo, nipa, rattan, and coconut fronds, was organized into a parish with the assignment of a Recollect priest from Surigao as first cura parroco. For over two decades, the congregation administered the affairs of the growing church until it was replaced by the Jesuits in 1860.
The physical development of the church grew as the number of converts appreciated. When the Americans arrived, it remained under Jesuit direction with new wooden edifices, including a convent for the sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary and classrooms of Escuela Catolica de San Pedro (now University of Immaculate Conception, UIC), being erected in the compound.
The first structural modification of the church did not happen until the Commonwealth era under Ramon Basa, the first architect in Davao, who had just migrated to the city, lured by the slogan of a Mindanao that was pitched in Manila as a promised land.
Basa’s remodeled house of worship resembled the old classical design. The main building that hosted the entrance was flanked by two triangle-capped belfries with spires at the top. The central edifice has a cross perched on the triangular roof while under it was rectangular ventilation, a circular mosaic décor, and two windows looking like Ten Commandments tablets.
Basa, in 1973, was bestowed the Datu Bago Award.
As a result of the damage inflicted by the war, the church had to be rehabilitated. It was not until 1964 that the remodeling took place. Despite fund shortfall and the trickle of donations coming in, Manuel Chiew, Davao’s eminent architect, accepted the job pro bono. He designed a concrete modern church that in the past decades would become a poster photo for Davao City.
Chiew’s church design reflects the amalgam of Christian and Muslim culture and heritage. The roof, nicely planned to look like a vinta’s prow that is afloat on a waterbody with a cross at the fore, irrefutably fuses two, at times conflicting, beliefs through inspiring symbolism. The blueprint also integrates what he advocated as ‘provincial Filipino architecture.’
(Erroneously, some sources attribute the iconic design of San Pedro Cathedral to national artist Leandro V. Locsin whose principal work in Davao City is Davao Insular Waterfront Hotel.)
Online accounts, interestingly, claim the cathedral is a ‘national cultural treasure’ but the official list of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) for that category does not mention it. Even the list of ‘cultural properties’ does not include the structure.
Today, the church premises or compound is host to other structures. To its left is the old UIC edifice (that used to host stage plays), now used as the parish office and the rectory. Meanwhile, below the church floor is a crypt or burial ground chiefly used for prelates.
To the rightmost section of the church grounds is a belfry that originally hosted a church bell from Spain donated by a Davao bishop’s brother-in-law. At the bosom of the campanile is Pieta, an iconic sculpture of the grief-stricken Blessed Virgin Mary depicting the body of Jesus on her lap. Another belltower feature is the replica of the two biblical tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Moreover, the cathedral also hosts bye-altars on either side of the main worship area. Also known as side-altars, these are preferred places for the display of venerated icons.
