When the province of Batanes was established, it was originally named Provincia de la Concepcion, though the parochial church was dedicated to St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers or the Dominicans. The dedication of churches to St. Dominic was pretty common back then, as the Dominicans were among those who were first to arrive in the country with the Spanish colonizers in their conquest to gain more territories por la corona y por Dios. The missionaries account for the por Dios of the conquest.

The first church of Batanes was built in 1783 out of cogon and wood, and it was not until 1795 when it was reconstructed to be built of stone. It has undergone a lot of changes through the centuries, the latest of which was in 2011, when it was rebuilt to its original form after it incurred damages from the July 2020 earthquake.

In 1950, the church of Basco was designated as the cathedral church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception when the Territorial Prelature of Batanes Islands and Babuyan was canonically erected and placed under the ecclesiastical province of Nueva Segovia. It was made suffragan to the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao in 1974. In 2002, it was renamed as the Territorial Prelature of Batanes. The Babuyan Group of Islands has already been under the territory of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao by then, as it is a part of the civil province of Cagayan.

There was an ongoing requiem mass when we arrived in the Cathedral, hence we were not able to fully see the church’s interior. We just took our photos outside.

The Virgin Mary under her title as the Immaculate Conception is the principal patroness of the Philippines, hence the country’s title pueblo amante de Maria. 14 cathedrals in the Philippines are dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, which speaks of the strong bond of faith that the Filipinos have for the Virgin Mother. As for the people of Batanes, association with the maternal protection of a heavenly figure is anything but new. Before Christianity reached the shores of Batanes, the Ivatans have been looking up to the protection of the maternal guidance of Iraya.

After our short trip to Basco Cathedral, we then headed to one of the iconic places in Batanes, one that is so popular, Batanes is easily linked to it. Rolling hills? Yes, Batanes has those. Lots of those, actually.