A Pilgrimage To Tarlac : Santo Niño Parish in Bamban / Bamban Church

Sitting at the heart of the town of Bamban is a Catholic church dedicated to Santo Niño. Santo Niño Parish Church or better known to many as the Bamban Church is located in Barangay Santo Niño. Interestingly, the church is canonically founded in 1812 by the Augustinian missionaries who arrived in Bamban in 1700s.

The current church was founded in 1936 but just like most churches in Tarlac and nearby provinces, Santo Niño Parish was heavily destroyed during the second world war. Not to mention the devastating fate of the town in 1991 when Mount Pinatubo erupted flooding Bamban and other towns with Lahar. The calamity left people of Bamban no other option but to abandon the place and evacuate to a higher ground, most particularly the Dapdap Resettlement area. *The church was not affected by the Lahar flow as the area is situated on higher ground.
Because the place was very close to Clark Air Base in Pampanga, the resettlement didn’t take that long and eventually with the efforts from the Government, the life and living of the Bambanenses returned to normal. The church was wonderfully restored but I was informed that only the front arch with the image of Santo Niño is the only structure from the original church that remains intact.

The facade of Santo Niño Parish features a front arch with the image of Santo Niño. It has a symmetrical design that features a twin bell tower while the most portions were adorned by stained glass windows. Outside, you’ll see a spacious area with little landscape and a shrine depicting the image of crucified Christ in Golgotha. *There used to be an old bell in the front yard too

The interior of the church is equally stunning. It features a spacious alter with interesting little details. It has no grandeur retablo and features a huge image of Crucified Christ on the center with the image of Santo Niño placed at the bottom. *The church used to have an ornate retablo on the center niche
The ceiling has exposed wooden beams while each pier features a Marian image or a saint.