San Antonio De Padua Church in the municipality of Pila, Laguna Province is now one of 25 Philippine Catholic Churches to be declared a National Shrine. On April 23, 2019, the church was formally elevated to National Shrine status in a mass attended by Papal Nuncio Archbishop Gabrielle Caccia and other bishops from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines including its president Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao and Bishop Buenaventura Famadico of San Pablo.
The church is the first National Shrine under the jurisdiction of San Pablo Diocese. It was originally declared by Pope John Paul II as the Diocesan Shrine of the said saint on July 9, 2002.
The original church was built in 1578 with Rev. Juan de Florencia serving as its first priest. The present structure was completed in 1849 and was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1880.
Another view of the historic church
The interior part of the church
