Grandeur of Basilica’s century-old paintings restored

CEBU, Philippines — The P4.4 million restoration project of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has brought back the grandeur of the century-old mural painting of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu and its six other ceiling paintings.

Father Pacifico Nohara, Jr. of the Order of Saint Augustine, the minor basilica's rector, said the 131-year-old painting is one of the artworks of the Basilica that has luckily survived the great challenges in history.

He said the painting has been existing since the Philippine revolution and was spared by the bombings during the World War II and the wrath of natural calamities like the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2013.

Nohara was elated by the generosity of NHCP for granting the financial support needed to restore the painting to continuously preserve the cultural treasures of the country.

He vowed that, in return, the Augustinian community will also do its part in the preservation of the paintings and other structures earlier restored.

Apart from its artistic and cultural value, Nohara stressed that the painting has "personal connection" to the Augustinian friars since it depicts the Augustinian saints, including St. Augustine, their founder, and his mother, Saint Monica.

The mural painting on canvas, dated February 1886 by Severino Flavier Pablo, depicts 49 portraits of Augustinian saints and martyrs.

The large painting is mounted on the wall of the convent sala inside the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu in downtown Cebu City.

That was the actual place where then president Benigno Aquino III noticed the deteriorating condition of the mural painting during the reception following the ceremonial turnover of the restored belfry of the minor basilica on May 2016, said NHCP chairman Dr. Rene Escalante.

He shared that the former president then asked the previous NHCP chair for the painting to be restored, while Aquino also promised to appropriate funds for the restoration of the mural painting, Escalante added.

He said the project was further pushed after the former rector, Father Jonas Mejares, sent a letter to NHCP requesting the agency to include the restoration of the mural paintings in its budget.

Escalante said a sum of P4.4 million from the national budget was set aside for the completion of the restoration project.

He said the NHCP prioritized the huge mural painting, which underwent a difficult and meticulous restoration work that started on January 2017 and completed seven months after.

According to NHCP, which supervised the restoration process, the painting has darkened in appearance due to the heavy accumulation of dirt and dust over the years.

Minute cracks, paint losses, and canvas warping were also observed as well as alteration of colors due to the improper retouching during the previous restoration.

Aside from the mural paintings, six oil in canvas ceiling paintings on the vestibule of the Basilica were also included in the project.

In time of the feast day of St. Augustine last Aug. 28, the newly-restored mural painting was unveiled and these paintings were then turned over formally by the NHCP executives to the Augustinian friars in a private gathering at the convent sala. —/GAN (FREEMAN)