Press Release
August 19, 2014

Villar SIPAG Unveils Santuario de San Ezekiel Moreno

? Sanctuario de San Ezekiel Moreno is the newest church in Metro Manila. It is a project of the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG), the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Vista Land.

? The construction of the church started in May 2011. It is in honor of the Spanish Recollect who served as the parish priest of Las Piñas from 1876 to 1879. His bone relics will be housed in the church. It is located in the compound of the headquarters of Villar SIPAG, C5 Extension Road, Las Pinas.

? Santuario de San Ezekiel Moreno is designed by Architect Claude Edwin Andrews, who is also the architect of the St. Therese the Little Flower Shrine across NAIA Terminal 3. It features architectural elements inspired by the Baroque Spanish colonial period and combined with modern structural technology with a cathedral ceiling.

? The 700-seater church will be a column-free edifice, thus it eliminates obstructions in viewing the altar from any point within the church. The church has stained glass doors and windows on both sides providing cross ventilation that lends a bright and airy atmosphere inside.

The interiors of the Santuario de San Ezekiel Moreno was done by Arch. Joey Amistoso. The Spanish Baroque retabllo will have Christ on the cross and the tabernacle at the center niche complimented with the image of San Ezequiel on the right niche and St. Joseph on the left. On top of the Crucified Christ will be the sunrayed Holy Spirit dove over Our Lady of Buensoceso.

The retablo and the entire sanctuary area is enhanced by a grand naturally and artificially lighted dome over it with the insignias of the four evangelists rightly placed on its four corners. Beyond the retablo wall, there are two side altars dedicated to Filipino saints, San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod.

? There are landscaped gardens on both sides of the church and a driveway with a Porte Cochere to protect the churchgoers from the rain. There is a loft for the churh choir, which will also feature a wooden musical organ to be built by the Las Pinas organ builders. There is a museum about the life and times of San Ezequiel Moreno so that the churchgoers will get to know the Patron Saint of Cancer Patients.

The church has an Adoration Chapel, and a Rectory.

Church construction is part of Villar SIPAG's advocacy with churches and religious organizations in partnership with Vista Land. The two will construct places of worship in various communities across the Philippines. Santuario de San Ezekiel is the first in Metro Manila. Last year, San Vicente Ferrer Church was also inaugurated in Cagayan de Oro City. Early this year, Saint Pio Church was also inaugurated in Savannah City in Iloilo.

? The following churches are also slated for completion: Church in Vista City, Alabang and a Swiss-inspired church at Crosswinds in Tagaytay. Churches will also be constructed in other parts of Luzon, namely: Camella Provence in Malolos, Bulacan; Maia Alta in Antipolo, Rizal; Camella Tierra Nevada in General Trias, Cavite; and Plantacion Meridienne in Lipa, Batangas. Other churches will likewise rise in Vista Land communities in the Visayas particularly at the Azienda in Cebu.

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