Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 19): Temple of Leah - The House of Vanity

True love can move us to do extraordinary things. Some lovers make poems about their beloved. Others offer their very life. While others build over-the-top monuments like the Taj Mahal and, in the case of Teodorico Adarna, a temple for his wife Leah.

I first heard about the Temple of Leah in one episode of Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS) in 2015. It did not have any impact to me at the time and I just considered it as a fancy gimmick of some tycoon.

I finally went to the Temple of Leah during my 2016 visit to Cebu. My negative first impression to the place was erased immediately when I laid my eyes on the impressive entrance arch of temple of Leah.

I believe that its inspiration is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Arch of Leah features motifs that are similar to Arc de Triomphe and other victory arcs in Europe.

A short walk from the entrance arch is one of the impressive Philippine structure that I ever saw. The main building of the Temple of Leah gave me an illusion that I was somewhere in ancient Greece.

The temple copied the architectural style of ancient Rome in almost all details. The main temple is supported by Doric-style columns. The lions at the entrance to main Temple and the fountain at the courtyard are all Roman motifs.

Statues of two maidens are atop the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. I immediately thought that one of the maiden is Ellen Adarna, the granddaughter of Leah.

The makers of Temple of Leah copied every ancient Roman motifs to the point that the Temple of Leah has naked statues like in the old Greek and Roman buildings.

I believe that this archer has poor memory because he forgot his bow and arrow and even his pants! :-P

The centerpiece of the temple is the 9-foot tall bronze statue of Leah Adarna. She is the wife of Teodorico Adarna and the grandmother of Ellen Adarna. 

The Adarna family is one the richest clan in Cebu. They operate the Queensland motels and other businesses. Don Teodorico remarried already and is now living in Davao.

The plaque below the statue proclaims the great love of Don Teodorico to his wife. He also said that the Temple of Leah will not only serve as the tomb of Leah but also a monument for the Adarna clan.

In the KMJS episode, the daughter of Leah confessed that her mom is worried where her collections and personal properties will go when she dies. The don promised Leah that she will built a place for her collections - thus the Temple of Leah was conceptualized.

The rooms of the temple holds the personal properties of Leah Adarna that she bought from different parts of the world. Her daughter admitted that her mom is a hoarder and she always bring tons of things from her travels.

Leah’s figurine collections inside the Temple of Leah.

Many people go to the Temple of Leah not to adore Leah but to take selfies. The temple is a nice place to wow your friends in Instagram and Facebook not only because of the Roman-inspired temple but also because of the good view of Cebu City.

The place can be crowded. The truth is that we waited a long time to have our photos taken in front of Leah’s statue. It is also difficult to take good shots because of the crowd.

Many parts of the Temple of Leah was still under construction during our visit. I am not sure if the temple is fully built this year.

Unfinished parts of the Temple of Leah.

Temple of Leah - How to Get There

The staff at the Bayfront Hotel helped us to find a tourist van that will take us to the Temple of Leah. We paid more than a thousand pesos, which is expensive. However, it is convenient since the van waited for us during the whole visit in the temple.

The best way to go to the Temple of Leah is by hiring a taxi or a tourist van because there are no regular jeepney route in the area.

Another way to go to the Temple of Leah is by taking shuttle service from Jollibee, I.T. Park in Cebu City.

Daredevils can take the habal-habal or motorcycles from Cebu City to the Temple of Leah. Many habal-habal are parked outside of the Temple.

We paid 50 pesos each before we entered the Temple of Leah. The fee will be used to defray cost and as additional funds for building the unfinished parts of the temple. There is no entrance for senior citizens and children below 10 years old. I read in other blogs that the Temple charge 100-peso fee for vehicles parking in the “temple area”.

I believe that Temple of Leah is truly testament of love of a husband to his wife. I also believe, however, that this temple is a symbol of vanity. The dying Leah worried so much about  her collections that she cannot bring with her in afterlife. The quote “vanity of vanities” in Ecclesiastes fittingly describes this mausoleum because the precious things in that temple will just gather dust while their owner turns into dust.

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Read more of my latest adventure in the island of Cebu!

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 18): A Better Stay in Bayfront Hotel in Cebu
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 17): A Great View of Cebu City from Tops Busay
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 16): A Taste of Mandarin in Cebu City
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 15): Taboan the Pasalubong Center of Cebu City
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 14): My Accidental Visit to Mt. Carmel Church

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 13): Another Visit to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 12): Why Cebuanos Call Mama Mary as Birhen sa Regla?
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 11): Sto. Niño Basilica - Mother and Head of All Churches of the Philippine Islands
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 10): A Visit to the Fake(?) Magellan’s Cross
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 9): The Story of Rajah Humabon - King of Cebu
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 8): Calle Colon, the Oldest Street in the Philippines
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 7): The Worst Cebu Hotel
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 6): The Colorful Lighthouse of Lilo-an
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 5): The Mysterious Church of Lilo-an
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 4): Bagacay Point Lighthouse

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 3): Feasting on Consolacion’s Fresh Talaba
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 2): Finding Consolation in Consolacion Church

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 1): My Boat Ride Under the Bridges of Mactan Channel

A Foretaste of Cebu in Mactan Cebu International Airport

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Visita Iglesia: The Sad History of Nasugbu Church

The town of Nasugbu in Batangas is our beach getaway. This is where  we go whenever we crave for a swim in the sea. In fact, we already went to Nasugbu’s Canyon Cove Resort twice.

The beach is not the only place that we visited in Nasugbu because we also dropped by the Nasugbu Church.

There are two parishes in Nasugbu. The parish church dedicated to San Antonio de Padua is located in Barrio Kaylaway. The church that we visited is at the poblacion and is dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier.

What immediately caught my attention when I entered the Nasugbu Church is the painting of angels on the ceiling above the altar.

The altar is quite impressive to look at too.

It was in the middle of hot afternoon so there were very few people inside the Nasugbu Church during our visit. Less people means a silent time for us to pray.

Nasugbu Church's ceiling also looks good and it reminds me of the beautifully painted ceilings in San Agustin Church in Intramuros.

The ceiling features the image of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary who preached in India, Indonesia, and Japan. Saint Francis Xavier became the patron saint of Nasugbu because the town was once entrusted to the care of Jesuit missionaries. The parish was established by the Jesuits in 1852.

The dome of Nasugbu Church is adorned with images of the Old Testament prophets. Just below the church are the images of the New Testament evangelists.

Above the front door of Nasugbu Church is a pipe organ.

The pipe organ was the main musical instrument of the church in the past. Nowadays, the main church musical instruments are guitar, keyboard, and tambourines - which I believe do not fit the solemnity of the Holy Mass.

I believe that Nasugbu Church is picturesque enough to be a good place for weddings. However, another Nasugbu church - the Caleruega Church - beat them in the top list of wedding venues.

The town of Nasugbu has been in existence since the Spanish Period so I wonder why their church look modern. Where is Nasugbu’s old church?

My online research brought me to Pepe Alas’ blog post about the old Nasugbu Church. There he revealed that the old Nasugbu Church, known as Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Escalera or Our Lady of the Staircase, is located outside the poblacion and is in ruins!

Some historians claim that the old Nasugbu Church was burned by the Spaniards during the Philippine Revolution. Pepe countered this theory and said:

This 19th-century church was said to have been destroyed during the skirmish between the Spanish troops and the Filipinos (Katipuneros). In the Nasugbú Tourism Quarterly (April-June 2000 issue), Francisco Villacrusis wrote that after imprisoning the townsfolk inside this church, the Spaniards burned it down, killing the people inside. But Villacrusis did not cite any reference. And his claim is preposterous. Here are my reasons:
1) The Spaniards, being devote Catholics, would never have done such an atrocity.
2) There were only a few Spaniards in the Philippines, from start (1565) to finish (1898). As a matter of fact, during that time, the only “white face” that one usually encounters in far-flung villages is that of the friar.
3) To the best of my knowledge, there was no other instance of “church-burning” that was instigated by the Spanish troops in other places in the country outside of Násugbu.
The only church-burner that I know of are the Katipuneros themselves. Andrés Bonifacio was a church-burner himself. As a matter of fact, he attempted to burn the church in nearby Indang in Cavite province. And he did considerable damage to the church.
In view of the foregoing, all accusing fingers should point to the Katipuneros, not the meager Spanish troops.

I agree with Pepe on this one. Church burning is more likely to be committed by the anti-Catholic and masonic Katipuneros.

Nasugbu is now one of the progressive town of Batangas but in the past it experienced brutality from the hands of the so-called liberators. The ruins of the old Nasugbu Church is the testament to the town’s sad history. 

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(Source: Wikipedia)

Saint Francis Xavier is the patron saint of Catholic missionaries, specifically for those in the missions in Africa and Asia.

Here is the prayer that you can say if you seek the intercession of Saint Francis Xavier:

Lord God,

by the preaching of St. Francis Xavier

you brought many nations to yourself.

Give his zeal for the faith to all who believe in you,

that your Church may rejoice in continued growth

throughout the world.

May this prayer fill us with the same love

that inspired Francis Xavier to work for the salvation of all.

Help us to live our Christian calling

and to inherit the promise of eternal life.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

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