BEFORE the Spaniards came, Kapampangans, like most Filipino tribes at the time, worshipped one god (bathala) and venerated lesser deities (anitos).  When the colonizers brought Christianity from Europe, Kapampangans not only converted but converted wholeheartedly.  They embraced the new religion with all their heart and soul and creative genius, erecting magnificent churches and producing glorious works of art, under the administration of the Augustinian friars.  Some of this has remained today, but sadly, much of it has been destroyed, stolen or renovated beyond recognition.

A few months ago, the HAU Center for Kapampangan Studies sponsored a church heritage conservation seminar for the clergy of the Archdiocese.  It was a way of linking up the parish priests, who have jurisdiction over the church edifices, and the conservationists, who consider church heritage part of the national patrimony.  In April next year, we will again renew our commitment to this advocacy by hosting the National Conference for Church Heritage Workers, together with the Archdiocese and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). 

As a symbol of this commitment, the Center has commissioned the construction of a retablo, that centerpiece of every Catholic church where the Tabernacle is enthroned surrounded by santos perched inside their niches.  It contains the images of the patron saints of the province's original towns, including Betis; the design of each image conforms to the iconography of the patron saint as it appears on the altar of the said parish.  The objective is to recreate the splendor of the early Kapampangan churches, to educate Kapampangans about saints and local churches, and to make them appreciate the Kapampangan skills of carving santos and retablos.

We got the best craftsmen from Macabebe, Betis and Angeles to put up this retablo.  Gener Bautista of Macabebe carved the santos, Charlie Bungay of Betis carved the retablo, Boyet Flores of Betis did the goldleafing and finishing, Romy Bautista of the HAU Carpentry Shop constructed the framework, and the ABSTRAK, a student organization, painted the artwork at the base of the retablo.  I did the overall design and supervision, while Alex Castro and Arwin Lingat of Mabalacat served as consultants on iconography.

The retablo contains the images of the following patron saints: Virgen de los Remedios, patroness of Pampanga; Santo Cristo del Perdon (Crucified Christ); Nuestra Señora del Rosario de la Naval (Angeles); San Pedro Apostol (Apalit); Santa Catalina de Alexandria (Arayat and Porac); Santiago de Galicia (Betis); San Guillermo Ermitaño (Bacolor); San Andres Apostol (Candaba); San Jose Talapagobra (Floridablanca), Imaculada Concepcion (Guagua), San Agustin (Lubao), Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Mabalacat), San Nicolas de Tolentino (Macabebe), San Bartolome (Magalang), San Miguel Arkangel (Masantol), Santa Monica (Mexico and Minalin), San Fernando Rey (San Fernando), San Luis Gonzaga (San Luis), Nuestra Señora del Pilar (San Simon), Sto. Tomas Apostol (Sto. Tomas), Sta. Rita de Casia (Sta. Rita), Sta. Ana (Sta. Ana) and Santa Lucia (Sasmuan).