The Binondo Church, also known as the Little Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, is located in Manila's Chinatown at the western end of Ongpin Street Ongpin Street. The church was founded by Dominican friars in 1596 to to convert Chinese immigrants to Christianity. The original church building was destroyed by the British in 1762 during their brief occupation of Manila. The present granite church was built on the same site in 1852. Its main attraction is its octagonal bell tower, which. suggests the Chinese ancestry of the congregation. This, incidentally, is the only part of the building part of the building that survives from the 16th century.
The Binondo Church was severely damaged during World War II, but fortunately, the western façade and the iconic fortunately, the west facade and the famous bell tower remained intact. The restoration of the church took place in three phases and was not completed until 1984. К A three-storey parish centre and cloister were added to the building. On the gilded gilded marble curtain walls depict the facade of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The church is named after the altar boy Lorenzo Ruiz, who was born to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother. He studied in this church, then went on a mission to Japan, where he was executed for refusing to renounce his faith. Lorenzo Ruiz became the first Filipino saint to be canonised by the Catholic Church in 1987. by the Catholic Church. In front of the basilica stands a huge statue of the saint great martyr. Despite extensive damage from earthquakes, typhoons and war, the church of Binondo still retains its baroque style.
