SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH

The present structure is actually the third Augustinian church erected on the site. The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards on the island of Luzon. Made of bamboo and nipa, it was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December, 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of Limahong. A second church made of wood was constructed on the site. This was destroyed in February, 1583, in a fire that started when a candle set ablaze the drapes of the funeral bier during the interment of the Spanish Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa.

The Augustinians decided to rebuild the church using stone, and to construct as well an adjacent monastery. Construction began in 1586, from the design of Juan Macias. The structure was built using hewn adobe stones quarried from Meycauayan, Binangonan and San Mateo, Rizal. The work proceeded slowly due to the lack of funds and materials, as well as the relative scarcity of stone artisans The monastery was operational by 1604, and the church was formally declared as completed on January 19, 1607, and named St. Paul of Manila.^[6] Macias, who had died before the completion of the church, was officially acknowledged by the Augustinians as the builder of the edifice.^[1]

San Agustin Church was looted by the British forces which occupied Manila in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. It withstood major earthquakes that struck Manila in 1645, 1754, 1852, 1863, and 1880. In 1854, the church was renovated under the supervision of architect Luciano Oliver. On August 18, 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States of America following the Spanish-American War.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II, San Agustin Church was turned into a concentration camp for prisoners.During the final days of the Battle of Manila, hundreds of Intramuros residents and clergy were held hostage in the church by Japanese soldiers; many of the hostages would be killed during the three-week long battle. The church itself survived the bombardment of Intramuros by American and Filipino forces with only its roof destroyed, the only one of the seven churches in the walled city to remain standing. The adjacent monastery however was totally destroyed, and would be rebuilt in the 1970s as a museum under the design of architect Angel Nakpil.