The town of Aparri, situated at the mouth of the Cagayan River, developed early as an important coastal settlement during the Spanish period, and it was within this setting that the Parish of San Pedro Telmo was formally established in 1680 under the Dominican missionaries. Alongside this long-standing parish tradition is the devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary, which led to the designation of the church as an archdiocesan shrine in more recent times.