Three days before Christmas, I went to a very beautiful church located in Makati. The Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church, also known as Guadalupe Church is an authentic Renaissance-Baroque church considered as one of the most popular wedding churches in Metro Manila.

The Augustinian missionaries established the church and an adjacent monastery in 1601 in the rocky, hilly terrain near the Pasig River banks. Originally, the church was dedicated Nuestra Señora de Gracia. But by 1603, the church was changed into Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe upon the request of many devotees. Just like the other old churches in Manila, the church has been destroyed by several earthquakes and fire. A new Our Lady of Guadalupe church was built in the east New Guadalupe in 1951. Eventually, the Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church would rise again in the west Old Guadalupe as restoration from its ruined state began and completed in the 1970s. The parish church and its adjacent monastery are now administered by the Augustinians of Santo Niño de Cebu.

Although the original interior appearance of the church can no longer be seen in the restored interiors, it was still a delight to see a beautiful landmark amidst Makati’s tall skyscrapers and flashy billboards.