KAWIT, Saint Mary Magdalene Parish

Описание: Formerly known as Cavite el Viejo, it is the location of his home, and the name Kawit is from the word kalawit, the Aguinaldo Shrine, where independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898. It is also the birthplace of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, who from 1895 to 1897, served as the municipality's chief executive.

The name Kawit is derived from the Tagalog word kawit kalawit (hook), which is suggestive of its location at the base of a hook-shaped shoreline along Manila Bay extending to the tip of Cavite City.

Legend, however, gives another version on how the town got its name. One day, a Spanish visitor asked a native blacksmith about the name of the village. The latter was busy at the time pounding on the anvil a piece of hot metal that looked like a hook. He hesitated to speak, not understanding what the stranger was asking, but when pressed for an answer, and thinking that he wanted to know what he was doing, he merely said kawit. The Spaniards left muttering the word kawit. In the course of the time, the word evolved into cauite, and finally cavite.

Kawit was the most thriving settlement prior to the coming of the Spaniards. In fact, the town provided the first anchorage of the Spaniards in the province, whence colonization and proselytization of the Christian religion began, spreading to all corners of the province.

For a long time, the place was called by the Spaniards "Cavite el Viejo" or Old Cavite to distinguish it from "Cavite la Punta" or "Cavite el Puerto", the commercial port and naval base (now Cavite City) whence came many Spanish marines on shore leave who made frequent visits to Cavite el Viejo, eventually turning it into a red-light district. This seedy reputation of the town was erased when Saint Mary Magdalene was made patroness, under the spiritual supervision of the Jesuits as ordered by Miguel García Serrano, O.S.A. (1618–1629), the fifth Archbishop of Manila.

With the establishment in the wake of the Philippine Revolution, the Philippine Independent Church built a shrine to Saint Michael, the Archangel in the barrio of Binakayan in 1902.

Cavite el Viejo was then a big town, comprising the municipality of Kawit today, Cavite la Punta (now Cavite City), Noveleta (called Tierra Alta by the Spaniards), and Imus. Eventually, these three barrios' populations grew and they eventually seceded to become independent municipalities.

Aside from its role as the birthplace of independence, Kawit was also the site of the Battle of Binakayan-Dalahican, one of several Filipino victories during the Revolution.


𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗔𝗪𝗜𝗧
The Jesuits first came to Kawit in 1624 to spread Christianity. The first wooden church was constructed in 1638 through the help of six Filipino families from the towns of Maragondon and Silang, Cavite.[4] The town of Kawit, which was formerly known as Cavite Viejo during Spanish occupation, was frequented by Spanish marines, which slowly turned the town into a "red-light district". To help solve the bad reputation of the place, Manila Archbishop Miguel Garcia Serrano (1618–1629) ordered the dedication of the Kawit Church to St. Mary Magdalene, who became the patroness of the town. Some people and researchers believe that it is possible that she may not be the original patron saint of the town, since most of the old parishes in Cavite were consecrated to the Virgin Mary.

In 1737, the cornerstones of the present church were placed and the construction of the stone church began. The roof of the church were destroyed by a strong typhoon in 1831. The control of the church was transferred to the secular clergy in 1768 after the expulsion of the Jesuits from all of the Spanish Colony. The church was placed then under the Recollects in 1849. In 1869, General Emilio Aguinaldo, the president of the First Philippine Republic was baptized in this church.[4] His birth certificate is kept inside a glass cabinet and on the left side of the altar, where the miraculous life-size (original) statue of St. Mary Magdalene is enshrined.

During the Philippine–American War in 1898, the Kawit Church was almost destroyed by Philippine forces who bombarded it using a pair of 8-inch muzzle loading cannon, belonging to the Philippine San Roque Battery under the command of an American, L.M. Johnson (Who would be mentioned in the Philippine Declaration of Independence) on the orders of Emilio Aguinaldo. The Spanish forces surrendered. Later in the war it was bombarded by the Americans as Filipino leaders were hiding in the church for protection.[5] Scars from the damages suffered by the building can still be traced on the church's exterior. The church was soon repaired after.

Through the concerted efforts of the Kawiteños, the church was renovated and restored in 1990 through the leadership of Fr. Luciano Paguiligan.