We have been to a lot of tourist spots including islands and beach resorts in Oriental Mindoro. This time, our next visit will be a bit more educational. We visited the famous church called “Simbahang Bato” which means “Stone Church” also known as Bancuro Church Ruins.

This church is quite different from other churches in the Philippines. The church ruins is made of adobe and corals. They also have pockets on the walls displaying Christian icons. The original church was built in the 17th century by Augustinian friars. The church served as a place of worship and a refuge. In 1824, the Moro pirates burned the church to rubble, after not finding the church’s golden bell.

During World War II, residents of Naujan used the remaining stone structure as a hiding place from Japanese soldiers. After the war, the priests of the Society of the Divine “Word (SVD), with the help of Bancuro residents built a chapel inside the ruins. They used locally available materials like palm leaves for the roof which is also supported by tree trunks. It was then that the ruins also came to be known as a church within a church. Pretty interesting right?

Simbahang Bato

Address: Barangay Bancuro, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro