The Saint James the Great Parish Church is a Spanish colonial church located at Brgy. Germinal in BolinaoPangasinan, Philippines. The church was made out of black coral stones. The church underwent series of natural and man-made calamities, such as the 1788 earthquake, 1819 fire incident, and Typhoon Emong in 2009.

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Odoric did not return to Italy till the end of 1329 or the beginning of 1330; but, as regards intermediate dates, all that we can deduce from his narrative or other evidence is that he was in western India soon after 1321 (pretty certainly in 1322) and that hjdcphotoIMGP2164-2015-03-28-162514mj mutuce spent three years in China between the opening of 1323 and the close of 1328. On one of his trips, his ship was nearly capsized by a typhoon but they landed safely
in Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines. He is said to have held a Mass there, in around 1324. That would have pre-dated the Mass celebrated in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, which is generally regarded as the first Mass in the Philippines, by some 197 years. However, historian William Henry Scott concluded after examining Odoric’s writings about his travels that he likely never set foot on Philippine soil and, if he did, there is no reason to think that he celebrated Mass.
Reference: Wikipedia


Marker from the Saint James the Great Parish Church

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St. James the Great Parish




This is part of my 2D1N Alaminos-Bolinao Trip in 2015

Sites visited:

  1. The Hundred Islands (ALAMINOS)
  2. Saint James the Great Parish Church (BOLINAO)
  3. Cocos Beach Resort (ILOG MALINO)
  4. Rock View Beach (PATAR)
  5. Cape Bolinao Lighthouse (PATAR)
  6. Patar Beach (PATAR)
  7. The Enchanted Cave (PATAR)


Have fun, Juan!