The San Pedro Calungsod Chapel in Cebu opens its doors

Designed by US-based architect Carlos Arnaiz, the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod sits on an elevated 5,001 square meter lot within the SM Seaside Complex. It can accommodate up to 803 people.

MANILA, Philippines - It was both a historical and happy day when SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and the Archdiocese of the Cebu led the dedication of the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod in SM Seaside Complex at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.  The day after its dedication, it was the holding area for the bishops who took part in the the National Thanksgiving Mass celebrating the canonization of Saint Pedro Calungsod in the South Road Properties area.

The Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod is the first structure in the SM Seaside Complex, echoing a practice during Spanish times when towns would be built around a church. More recently, the Shrine of Jesus the Way the Truth and the Life, was also the first structure in the now bustling Mall of Asia Complex when it was blessed in 1999.

The Chapel was donated by Henry Sy, Sr. and Felicidad Sy to the Archdiocese of Cebu, and is dedicated to San Pedro Calungsod, the first Visayan saint, who is considered a role model for the youth.  Martyred in Guam for his missionary work in 1672, he was beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000.  San Pedro Calungsod was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City last Oct. 21.

 Designed by US-based architect Carlos Arnaiz, the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod sits on an elevated 5,001 square meter lot within the SM Seaside Complex. It can accommodate up to 803 people.

The design for the chapel is meant a homage to Cebu’s dynamic spirit.  Cebu has become the heart of Philippine design culture — open, vibrant, yet relaxing in a spirit of cosmopolitan exchange.  The city is host to a growing community of talented designers, filmmakers, businessmen and trendsetters who are in the process of defining how a passion for history, craft, and hard work nutures innovation.

The building is grounded on a long history of ecclesiastical architecture wherein light and structure work together to inspire.  And yet, the design is truly contemporary, futuristic, and contextual.

The church stands as a sanctuary of stone, sand, and glass from where we can meditate on the changes happening in the world and find strength in our encounter with the inexplicable mysteries of God.  It invites us to wonder around its grounds and discover sunken gardens, pockets of blue light, and an enigmatic profusion of talismanic walls.

The church has 100 walls, each with a unique height and width so that they seem almost like people.  No one is the same and yet they are all commected in the fact that they exist together as a cluster.  The walls come together to form a kind of congregation, and within it are auxillary spaces for a baptistry, an adoration chapel, prayer niches, the sacristy, fourteen stations of the cross, and even a quiet room for children.  A multi purposes area for church functions is located below.

The consecration Mass during the dedication was celebrated by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and attended by hundreds of Bishops from all over the country. The Sy family led by Felicidad Sy, and Hans T. Sy were also present during the mass.

The official pilgrim image of San Pedro Calungsod was brought to the chapel through a motorcade from the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral to be there during the consecration Mass. The image will be placed at the San Pedro Calungsod Shrine at the Archbishop’s Palace, with the chapel a replica of the statue in the chapel.

The Archdiocese of Cebu appointed Msgr. Vicente Tupas as rector of the SM Seaside’s Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod.