Archdiocesan Shrine of the Sacred Heart Parish –– Alternative Contemporary Arts Studio

D. Jakosalem St., Cogon Central Ramos, Cebu City Contact number: (+63 32) 253-6479

Originally dedicated to Our Lady Queen of China, Sacred Heart Parish-Jesuit was founded in 1952 for the Chinese community in Cebu. The parish has its own Alternative Contemporary Arts Studio, which exhibits works of Cebuano contemporary visual artists. The parish was first known as Our Lady of China Parish to honor the “Our Lady of China,” which explains why it was built primarily by Chinese Catholics in Cebu. The church structure has unique arches surrounded by welltended gardens. The curve design at its top, where the huge image of Christ and the Sacred Heart are, never fails to catch the eye of parishioners and passersby alike.

The Sacred Heart Church, whose official name is the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, was finished in 1960, using donations from parishioners who were mostly Chinese. Its erection marked the return of the Jesuits to Cebu in their official capacity as missionaries. The Jesuits, it can be recalled, were expelled from the Philippines in the mid- 1700s and their properties confiscated in favor of the Diocese of Cebu.

The modernistic Sacred Heart Parish Church sits on a land that adjoins with the Archbishop's Palace and grounds after it was moved there from the downtown area. The Church has a special ministry for Cebu City's vibrant Chinese-Filipino Community, many of whom lived in the area in the 1950s.

PROGRAM: Free Chinese food tasting (courtesy of Amy's Lunchbox Café)

EXHIBITS: Interactive exhibit. Five identified key people in the beginnings of the Parish story are to be impersonated. Guests are invited to give their contact details and write a message of what moved or struck them in the exhibit. Best message is chosen after the exhibit and the winner will be informed to claim prize.

Prize for Best Message is a copy of the coffee table book "Years of Enkindling Hearts: Sacred Heart Parish, Cebu," winner of the Philippine Quill Award of Excellence for Publication Design 2014.