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Heraldry can be found almost everywhere and can be depicted in any art form. Most notable of these artforms is on stained glass windows, with heraldry enriching the experience of beholding them, leaving us wondering whose coat of arms they are and what they present. For instance, the Manila Cathedral features several coats of arms depicting the invocations of the Litany of Loreto and symbols of several saints. More prominently featured are the coats of arms of the Republic of the Philippines and the Archdiocese of Manila on opposite sides of the basilica's transepts. These stained glass windows were designed by National Artist and heraldist Galo Ocampo, who also designed the abovementioned arms of the republic and several other state emblems.
Aside from the Manila Cathedral, his other most famous stained glass window work can be found in the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, where the Our Lady of La Naval de Manila is enshrined. The main windows feature scenes from the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, the events of the Battle of Lepanto and La Naval, and the Dominican Martyrs. However, underneath these magnificent windows are small yet intricate windows depicting armorial bearings that are mostly forgotten due to their size, yet for those who have keen heraldic eyes, one will find these inclusions interesting.
Unfortunately, due to lack of interest, the microscopic size, and the lack of available pictures on the internet, the general public is unaware whose coats of arms are these. A now-defunct blog mislabels these coats of arms as that of foreign Dominican bishops, only basing their correlation on the mottos below each arms. However, upon closer inspection, one may determine that, based on the impalements and the distinct artstyle, these are the coats of arms of the Catholic bishops in the Philippines during the time the church was constructed.
Why were the arms of bishops depicted in Santo Domingo Church? Surely it could have been more prominently presented if it was in the Manila Cathedral? We don’t have a definite answer, but most likely it’s because there is nothing to place on these window spaces, so a heraldry enthusiast such as Galo Ocampo has deliberately included the hierarchy’s coat of arms. It should be noted that in 1953, the members of the Catholic Welfare Organization (now the CBCP) convoked the First Plenary Council of the Philippines in San Agustin Church in Manila, strengthening the Philippine church, while in 1954 a Marian Congress was held in Manila, with the highlight being the Solemn transfer of La Naval de Manila to its new home in the new church on October 10, 1954 accompanied by the bishops and the faithful. Thus the Catholic hierarchy played a huge role in the figurative “rebuilding” of the Philippine church after the Second World War.
The coats of arms of the bishops are dated between the years 1954 to 1955, thus the depicted coat of arms are that of the incumbent bishops during this time, including auxiliary bishops, prelates, and apostolic vicars. The majority of these coats of arms are designed by ecclesiastical heraldist and then-Bishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, the Most Rev. Mariano Madriaga.
(Author's Note: It would be better if we could appreciate the windows with good pictures, so if anyone has clear pictures of the windows up close, please don’t hesitate to contact the author through our Facebook page.)
The coats of arms below the stained glass windows of the last three Glorious mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Photo from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao.
The stained glass windows at the façade of the Santo Domingo Church just behind the choir loft depict the last three Glorious mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Below are windows depicting, aside from the coat of arms of the Dominican Order in the far left and right sides, the coats of arms of the six archbishops and the Papal Nuncio during the 1950’s (from left to right):
- José Maria Diosomito Cuenco (Jaro)
- James Thomas Gibbons Hayes, S.J. (Cagayan de Oro)
- Rufino Jiao Santos (Manila)
- Egidio Vagnozzi (Nuncio) - center window
- Julio Rosales y Ras (Cebu)
- Santiago Caragnan Sancho (Nueva Segovia)
- Pedro Paulo Santos y Songco (Caceres)
Since this is the only picture I have found with a faint view of the coats of arms, I used clues in the symbolism to determine which coat of arms is which. For Archbishop Cuenco it is the Jaro impalement with the bend sinister charged with roses, for Archbishop Hayes it is the shamrock in canton, for then-Archbishop Santos is the tower on a Gules field, for the Nuncio is the cross-ordinary and the inescutcheon, for then-Archbishop Rosales is the Gules chief with a lily and the rose bush in the main field, and for Archbishop Sancho is the tierced per bend division.
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The coats of arms below the stained glass windows of Battles of Lepanto and La Naval. Photo from Lakbay ng Lakan blog.
The stained glass windows at the right transept of the church depict the Battles of Lepanto and La Naval. This side of the transept is always hit by sunlight, so the arms are easily identifiable. Below are the coats of arms of the bishops (from left to right, with year of appointment):
- Patrick Henry Cronin, S.S.C.M.E. (Ozamiz, 1955)
- Clovis Joseph Thibault, P.M.E. (Davao, 1954)
- Patrick Harmon Shanley, O.C.D. (Infanta, 1953)
- Flaviano Barrechea Ariola (Legazpi, 1952)
- Lino Rasdesales Gonzaga (Palo, 1951) - center window
- Peregrin de la Fuente Néstar, O.P. (Batanes, 1951)
- Manuel Porcia Yap (Bacolod, 1952)
- Alejandro Ayson Olalia (Lipa, 1953)
- Juan Callanta Sison (Nueva Segovia, Auxiliary, 1947)
It is interesting to note that some coats of arms have variations from the original. The arms of Bishop Thibault has the maple leaves moved to the chief containing the arms of the congregation where he belongs; Bishop Yap has the chief tincture of the diocesan impalement in Gules instead of Or, and his personal arms tinctured a sky blue instead of Gules; and Bishop Sison has the chief tinctured Gules instead of Or.
If observed closely, the mottos of Bishops Cronin of Ozamiz (Quis ut Deus) and Shanley of Infanta (Quis separabit) are incorrectly switched on the windows.
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The coats of arms below the stained glass windows of Dominican martyrs San Vicente Liem de la Paz and San Francisco Capillas. Photo from Facebook.
The stained glass windows at the left transept of the church depict the Dominican martyrs San Vicente Liem de la Paz and San Francisco Capillas. This side has a darker area because it is covered by the church convent, but the coats of arms are still identifiable through their impalements. Below are the coats of arms of the bishops (from left to right):
- William Brasseur, C.I.C.M. (Mountain Province, 1948)
- Vicente Posada Reyes (Manila, Auxiliary, 1950)
- Cesar Maria Guerrero y Rodriguez (San Fernando, 1949)
- Manuel Mascariñas y Morgia (Tagbilaran, 1951)
- Mariano Aspiras Madriaga (Lingayen-Dagupan, 1954) - center window
- Alfredo Maria Obviar y Aranda (Lucena, Administrator, 1950)
- Wilhelm Josef Duschak, S.V.D. (Calapan, 1951)
- Antonio Floro Frondosa (Capiz, 1952)
- Teopisto Valderrama Alberto (Sorsogon, 1952)
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There are also stained glass windows at the corner of the right transept of the church. This side is interesting because two are coats of arms of dioceses which were in sede vacante (Surigao and Tuguegarao in 1953) and one is a coat of arms I haven’t seen before.
Judging by the uniqueness of the arrangement of symbols and the abundance of landscapes, I can say that the middle coat of arms is not designed by then-Bishop Madriaga, so it must be an arms of a bishop before the 1940’s. I can only conjecture that this is the coat of arms of Miguel Acebedo y Flores (Calbayog, 1937) who was still incumbent of his diocese and died in 1958, since he was the only one without a coat of arms available online, but I could be wrong.
The coat of arms of the Diocese of Surigao is also interesting to note since in 1955 a new diocesan arms was designed by Madriaga and impaled with the arms of Bishop Charles van de Ouwelant.
The covered stained glass windows located at the corner of the left transept of the church. Photo from La Naval de Manila page.
There are still three more coats of arms at the right corner of the right transept of the church, but unfortunately, based on current images, this side is permanently covered with a long sheet of blue cloth, so we have no available picture of the three remaining coats of arms depicted on this side.
The latest bishop with a coat of arms depicted on the windows was Bishop Cronin of Ozamiz appointed May 1955 and ordained Sept 1955. Curiously, Bishop de Ouwelant of Surigao was already appointed bishop in March 1955, but their diocesan coat of arms is depicted instead.
The coats of arms of the Philippine Catholic hierarchy in Santo Domingo Church serve as a reminder of the growth of the Catholic Church in the 50s. In a country ravaged by war, the church, headed by the bishops, sought to rebuild its physical walls and strengthen its faith which still stands today with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Then-bishop Madriaga led the peak of ecclesiastical heraldry in the Philippines during the 50s, providing his services to the whole Philippine hierarchy. The majority of these coats of arms were published on the Dominican-run Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas, and later in 1957, he would publish the corporate arms in Philippine Studies. All these culminated in the construction of the stained glass windows that memorize both the resilient Philippine bishops and the past glory of ecclesiastical heraldry in the country.
(Author's Note: If anyone has clear pictures of the windows up close, please don’t hesitate to contact the author through our Facebook page.)
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References:
Lakbay ng Lakan. “Santo Domingo Church, Quezon City: Galo Ocampo’s Stained Glass Windows”. https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2020/11/10/santo-domingo-church-quezon-city-galo-ocampos-stained-glass-windows/November 10, 2020
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao. “History of Santo Domingo Church”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tKPStvz-68&t=455s
La Naval de Manila Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/lanavaldemanilaofficialpage/
Photo of the Solemn Transfer of Our Lady of La Naval from the Francis Jason Diaz Perez III Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lanavaldemanila/865096139/