Located in the district of Paco, San Fernando de Dilao Parish is more widely known as Paco Church. The parish is dedicated to Saint Ferdinand III of Castile, a ruler remembered for uniting Castile and León in the 13th century and for governing with a strong sense of justice, piety, and charity. His canonization reflects the Church’s recognition of holiness expressed through public service and moral leadership, values echoed in the parish’s long endurance.

The first church, built in 1580 from nipa and bamboo and dedicated to Our Lady of Purification, stood in an area then called Dilao, named after a plant used to produce yellow dye (diláw). A stone church was constructed by the Franciscans at the turn of the 17th century, but it was burned during the Chinese uprising of 1603. Similar cycles followed: reconstruction, then destruction during the British occupation of Manila in 1762, and repeated damage from earthquakes and typhoons throughout the 19th century.

By the late Spanish period, major rebuilding efforts restored the church, only for it to be completely burned again during the Philippine–American War in 1899. In the early 20th century, Belgian missionaries oversaw recovery, leading to the construction of the present church. Its cornerstone was laid in 1931, the building completed in 1933, and it was consecrated in 1934.

The present structure features a dignified neoclassical façade with twin belfries, Corinthian columns, and a triangular pediment. Inside, the Romanesque-Byzantine interior is complemented by a recently installed Italian Baroque-style altar with Latin inscriptions reminiscent of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.