The church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines and a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines . Together with the churches of Maragondon , Loboc and Guiuan , the Baclayon Church was formerly included for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List of the Philippines since 1993 under the collective group of '' Jesuit Churches of the Philippines '' . When a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and other parts of Central Visayas in 2013 , the church building sustained major damage . Reconstruction by the National Museum of the Philippines started in 2013 , and was completed in 2017 The Jesuits , the first evangelizers of the Baclayon , planted the first seed of Christianity in Bohol upon the request of Doña Catalina de Bolaños , mother of the encomendero of Bohol island , Pedro de Gamboa to Father Antonio Sedeno , mission superior of Leyte and Samar . In November 17 , 1596 , the first Jesuits , Father Juan de Torres , SJ and Father Gabriel Sánchez , SJ , came to Baclayon . At that time , a Catholic chapel is already existing inside the encomienda
earthquake
2013 Bohol earthquake
Baclayon Church