'the new skies and the new earth'

This afternoon I was in the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, and from the brochure given to me at the lobby, I know that it was established in response to the challenge of the late Pope John Paul II. The Cebu Archdiocese Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church was formed on July 20, 2002. A great part of its task was to re-open the Cathedral Museum of Cebu which was first established by the late Msgr. Virgilio “Nene” Yap. The building which housed the temporary collection was the old rectory of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. Old maps of Cebu show that the building has been around since the nineteenth century – surviving wars, uninformed renovators, and the elements. As in the typical structures of this period, the rectory was made of stone on the lower level and a combination of hardwood and other lighter materials on the upper level. Its inner walls were made of “tabique pampango”, a thin wall of interlaced pieces of bamboo which was coated with lime mixed with sand. The convent roof was made of clay tiles or “teja”. The rectory shares the history of the Cebuanos who have seen it used as a parish convent, a school, a cooperative store, and even as a temporary chapel during the renovation of the cathedral. Now, it will surface in another adaptive reuse as an Ecclesiastical Museum.

The Museum was the High School Training Department of the old Colegio de San Carlos after its buildings was hit by bombs sometime before the Liberation. The lobby contains the only existing early post-war photograph of the convent, taken in 1947, also found at the wall is a montage detailing the restoration works before converting it into the museum today. What caught my attention was a small pit dug at the ground, at the left side of the lobby leading to a chapel. The escort told me that the excavation is to show visitors the different layers of foundation that came ahead of the present floor. The chapel is a reconstruction of the one built by Jesuit missionaries within the convent walls. It holds the famed Carmen Collection of tabernacle, gradas and altar panels made of wood encased in etched silver from a church in the Carmen parish.

At the second floor are six galleries; the first gallery, The Genesis of Our Faith, provides a panoramic rendition of the beginnings of the Catholic faith in the country through the history of the Archdiocese of Cebu in texts, illustrations and photographs. It traces the blossoming of Catholicism all over the islands and the wide reach of the then – Diocese of Cebu and its role in the establishment of settlements centered on the church and its plaza that have now become town and city centers. The second gallery, I have chosen the Way of truth (Viam Veritatis Elegi), contains a select collection of the memorabilia of Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, third archbishop of Cebu. It traces the remarkable life from humble beginnings of one the most loved and respected princes of the church and shepherd of the archdiocese. Through text, artifacts and vestments, the gallery provides a closer look into the life of the Cardinal. The third gallery, Building the House of God (De Cal y Canto), shows important details in construction of churches during the Spanish period. Photographs and actual building materials and techniques no longer used today are displayed here, including a period documentation of the materials used in constructing the Church of Liloan.

The fourth gallery, A Gathering of Saints, is an exhibit of the collection of large as well as small Spanish-era statues of saints from the different parishes of the archdiocese and its churches. Central to this collection are a set of saints (and a Calvary scene) of ivory and wood that, for security reasons, are displayed only during special occasions or after obtaining special permits to view them. The fifth gallery, Regalia of worship, displays the accoutrements that provide the physical dimensions to the liturgy and the sacraments, including archdiocesan collection of chalices, cruets, ciborium, and sacras as well as priest’s vestments and a collection of portraits of bishops that once reigned over the diocese. The last gallery six, The priestly life, is a peck into the typical bedroom of a priest in the diocese. Among the displays are furniture and books as well as archeological material, comprising Chinese trade ware ceramic shreds, and animal bones, from what appear to be a Spanish-era garbage pit that was accidentally unearthed by workers during the convent restoration. Although not part of the gallery, one section near gallery six shows a typical fan-like truss work of timber that supported second floors of two-storey buildings as practiced during the Spanish period.

Why do we need an Ecclesiastical Museum? In the words of Pope John Paul II – “…the museum aims to make communities understand the importance of its past, nourish a sense of belonging to the territory in which it lives…unite the value of Memory to prophecy by safeguarding the tangible signs of ecclesiastical tradition. Through the art historical patrimony, they present the evolution of the history of salvation in Christ; they re-propose the work of Christian evangelization; they indicate in artistic beauty ‘the new skies and the new earth’; they are the signs of the recapitulation of all things in CHRIST.”

In case you haven’t gone to the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, it’s located at Manalili corner P. Gomez Sts. Cebu City and for more detailed information call them at telephone no. (+6332) 255-2125, and email: info@cathedralmuseumofcebu.com or login to http://www.cathedralmuseumofcebu.com/.