James the Great Parish
Bolinao, Pangasinan
Uncertified records say that it was an Italian missionary named Blessed Odorico who, on his way to China, said the first mass in Bolinao Bay when he took refuge during a storm in 1324. The claim further mentions that he even baptized several locals making him the first evangelizer in the Philippines. Nevertheless, only two hundred years later the first c
ontact between the native people of Bolinao and the Spaniards was given in the following account: “Juan de Salcedo, the last of the Spanish Conquistadores sailed from Manila on May 20, 1572, and three days later reached Bolinao at a place located on the island of Santiago or Purro just across the channel from the present location. There Salcedo came upon a Chinese Sampan which had captured a native chieftain and some of his men with the intention of taking them along China. Salcedo liberated the natives who were so thankful for the generous action of the Castilians that they voluntarily pledged vassalage to the King of Spain.”
Furthermore, local unwritten history which had been handed down from generation to generation and from mouth to mouth, narrates that the town of Bolinao started as a small settlement or in what is now the site of Binabalian, a barrio in Santiago Island. With a little over one hundred families, Captain Pedro Lombi founded the town of Bolinao in 1575. Sometime in the year 1585, Friar Esteban Marin, a Dominican Father, was assigned in Bolinao. In the following years, he baptized many people and organized them into a town. He worked in Bolinao until the year 1587 when he was going to be appointed prior of the town of Batac, Ilocos Norte. By that time, the old town of Bolinao was located on the coast of the province of Pangasinan, facing Purra Island from which it is separated by a narrow canal. Bounded only by the sea and the northern branches of the Cordillera Mountains of Zambales, the small coastal town was about 22 leagues distant from the administration of Iba, while only 10 leagues separated it from Lingayen, the capital of Pangasinan. Therefore, it was assigned to the Dominican Order which was in charge of administration of this last province. Fr. Lorenzo de San Miguel was accepted in the chapter in 1596 and two years later, he and his appointed vicar Fr. Tomas Castellar were assigned in the community. From this day on up to the beginning of the new century no references of other Dominican activities in this area had been mentioned – possibly due to the fact that they left the place in as much as in the successive chapters. During this period, the Poblacion of Bolinao grew to a respectable population of 5699 inhabitants and 3344 tribute payers. In the year of 1600 however, Dominican Fathers came back with appointment of Fr. Francisco Martinez as Superior of the Convent of Bolinao. In 1602, Fr. Estacio Ortiz took over. Fathers like Antonio Figueroa were the very first sowers of the seeds of the Gospel in this town. They ended their missionary work in 1607. After the Dominican Fathers left Bolinao, the illustrious Governor and Captain General Rodrigo de Rivera and the Dean of the Metropolitan Church requested the Recoletos de San Augustin to take over the mission already begun by the Dominicans. Immediately thereafter Fr. Jeronimo de Cristo and Fr. Andres del Espiritu Santo rallied to the call and upon arrival in this island town of Bolinao began to undertake the task of spreading the Gospel and religious doctrines. They taught the people by precepts and gave an example of life and endured all kinds of privations and great hardships which such strength of will that the pagans were easily convinced to the Christian religion. In due time, these hardworking missionaries began to reap the fruits toils and privations when over 1800 infidels accepted the sweet yoke of the Lord and were regenerated by the water of baptism. In the course of time, around 1609, due to piratical molestations, the town was transferred to the mainland. The present site is near Libsong where clear spring kept on gushing. Just a stone’s throw about 30 meters from there, the Roman Catholic Church was erected. The church tower of Bolinao was the tallest in Pangasinan, if not in the entire Northern Luzon. Its height measured seventy-five feet. But an earthquake in 1788 toppled about half of the tower. In addition to that, the church convent was accidentally burned, in 1819. In 1974, finally the first priest was ordained in the parish of Bolinao. All the years before as part of the Diocese of Lingayen, then in 1985, Bolinao finally became a parish of the newly installed Diocese of Alaminos. In 2008, the celebration of 400 years anniversary as a parish was launched. Only one year later, on 7th of May, 2009 the church was heavily devastated by typhoon Emong and it is still undergoing repair and major renovations to restore the grandness of its historical edifice.
