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San Sebastian Minor Basilica

San Sebastian Minor Basilica Following the destruction of its three churches due to fire and earthquakes, the parish priest of San Sebastián in the 1880s, Esteban Martinez, sought the help of a Spanish architect named Genaro Palacios to build a church that could withstand an earthquake. Palacios’ idea was to use steel to construct the new church and make it both earthquake and fire resistant. To this end, prefabricated steel sections were ordered from Belgium which were then sent to the Philippines in 1888 in eight separate shipments. Belgian workers traveled to Manila to put together all these sections on-site. Pope Leo XIII raised the status of San Sebastián to Minor Basilica in 1890, a year before the new church was consecrated in August 1891. Steel is not without its share of problems. Rust and corrosion are expected of a structure that is over a century old especially when it is close to Manila Bay. Interventions have been undertaken throughout the years to preserve the Basilica a