Paoay Church

Saint Augustine Parish Church, commonly known as Paoay Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines. It is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Laoag. Completed in 1710, the church is famous for its distinctive architecture, a highlight of which are the enormous buttresses on the sides and the back of the building.

It is declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government in 1973 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the collective group of Baroque Churches of the Philippines in 1993.

The earliest historical record of the area dates back to 1593, becoming an independent Augustinian parish by 1686. The construction of the present church was started in 1694 by Augustinian friar Father Antonio Estavillo and was completed in 1710. It was later on rededicated in 1896.

Some portions of the church were damaged in the 1865 and 1885 earthquakes but was later restored under the initiative of former First Lady, Imelda Marcos.

Several projects for the restoration of the Paoay Church were sought by government and non-government organizations due to possible questions over its structural integrity. The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte through resolution, in 2014, sought the retrofitting of the church and the reconstruction of the church's convent which were in ruins.

The restoration of the church's buttresses, walls, tower, and interior was announced in 2018. Conservation of the church's exteriors was begun by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in the second quarter of 2019 and completed in June 2020. Work focused on the historic stone masonry walls and buttresses. Vegetation was removed from the exteriors to prevent stone erosion and lime grout loss. Major structural repair was done on the stairway of the bell tower. The entire roof system was also rehabilitated as part of the project.

The restored structure was turned over to the Laoag diocese in November 2020, and was reopened on November 15 of that year.

Paoay church is the Philippines' primary example of a Spanish colonial earthquake baroque architecture dubbed by Alicia Coseteng, an interpretation of the European Baroque adapted to the seismic condition of the country through the use of enormous buttresses on the sides and back of the building. The adaptive reuse of baroque style against earthquake is developed since many destructive earthquakes destroyed earlier churches in the country. Javanese architecture reminiscent of Borobudur of Java can also be seen on the church walls and façade.