The 1754 eruption of Taal Volcano severely damaged Batangas province but spared the Guadalupe complex. In 1762, the occupying British soldiers converted it into their military headquarters. They desecrated the church and sacked the tombs; images of saints were defiled and robbed of their decorations and jewelries. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was spared due to the timely intervention of an Irish official who brought to Pasig for safekeeping until 1764.