Baguio Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Atonement, is a Catholic church located on the Cathedral Ring near the Seshn Road motorway. The cathedral is known for its delicate pink façade colour, twin spires and traditional stained glass windows, making it one of the most popular tourist Baguio City's most popular tourist attractions. During the Japanese occupation of the city in World War II, the cathedral served as an evacuation centre.
The site where the cathedral stands today was called "kampo" by the Ibaloi people. In 1907, Belgian missionaries established a Catholic mission here and renamed the area Mount Maria. Construction of the cathedral began in 1920 under the direction of the parish priest, Brother Florimono Carlu. In 1936. the cathedral was completed and in the same year it was consecrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Atonement.
During World War II, the cathedral housed an evacuation centre. Only miraculously, the church building survived the carpet bombing of Baguio in 1945. The remains of thousands of victims of that war were buried on the cathedral grounds.
A distinctive feature of Baguio Cathedral is its pink façade with its round rosette windows and square twin bell towers with hipped roofs. Within the huge courtyard is an observation deck, overlooking the Sesne Road and the city centre. To get inside the cathedral by climbing a stone staircase with a hundred steps.
In 2006, restoration work was carried out in the cathedral, during which a new square was built in front of the church building, and inside - a new altar for everyone who wanted to light a candle.
Interestingly, Baguio Cathedral is perhaps the only cathedral in the in the world that has its own Porta Wagga shop.
