Balanga Cathedral

During the Japanese invasion the cathedral was used as an artillery emplacement to bombard Mt. Samat, where the Filipino-American troops made their last stand. It was later renovated by the first bishop of the diocese, Celso Guevarra, who made its patron saint, Saint Joseph.

Main altar

After the war Bishop Celso renovated the church. Its walls were white and a number of chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the largest before the altar. Behind the altar was a structure painted green with stripes of gold and a statue of Jesus in the left, Mary on the right, and Joseph holding the hand of Baby Jesus. Beside the altar, there were two statues, Lorenzo Ruiz in the left and Mary at the right. There was a group of bells lined together vertically by metal grilles, the usual bell design in almost all of the parishes in Bataan. There was a statue of Jesus of Nazareth near the main door, which was kept for rehabilitation, believed to be miraculous. People lined up and gave sampaguitas to its neck and cross, they would usually wipe its feet. Along the cathedral's aisle are the coat of arms of respective bishops of Balanga that were added during their installation dates, with the latest is the coat of arms of Bishop Ruperto Santos which was added when he became bishop of the diocese on July 8, 2010.

When Bishop Socrates Villegas became Bishop of Balanga on July 3, 2004, he saw that the decorations were in bad shape; he renovated the inside with a new design. When it was finished, the white walls were replaced by a wall of bricks, the structure behind the altar became marble white, the floors were higher, the lectern bearing the coat of arms of diocese of Balanga was replaced with the one with Holy Spirit, and the chandeliers were replaced by ceiling lights. In 2008, 15 life-size images of saints with their names were added outside the cathedral representing the patron saints from the 11 towns and 1 city of Bataan where the Diocese of Balanga has jurisdiction with and a few towns have multiple saints. A few months before he became archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan on November 4, 2009, images featuring the ancestors of Jesus and image of Jesus Christ at the cathedral's dome were added.

During the term of Bishop Ruperto Santos, the patio was improved and numerous vendors were discouraged within the cathedral's premises. Pavement of the ground on the exterior was made from 2017 to 2018, and the belfry added the bricks in 2019.[1] In 2020, the cathedral's roof were painted from green and white to red. Pipe organs were also added on the cathedral's choir loft. Months before Santos became Bishop of Antipolo on July 22, 2023, the cathedral's leftmost door was removed and replaced with a wall.

The feast day of Saint Joseph is celebrated twice annually in the city of Balanga, on March 19 and the "pistang bayan" every April 28.

• 
  1940 Philippine Historical Committed Marker
• 
  Historical marker
• 
  Angels, Logo in the middle of the Center facade
• 
  Facade of the Balanga Cathedral
• 
  Belfry
• 
  Frontage of right side entrance
• 
  Right half of main door
• 
  Schedule of Masses
• 
  The Cathedral/Bishop's Coat of arms (Ecclesiastical heraldry)
• 
  Cathedra
• 
  Our Lady of Lourdes
• 
  Dome
• 
  Our Lady of Perpetual Help
• 
  Choir loft
• 
  Black Nazarene
• 
  Confessional
• 
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando - 1st Bishop Celso Nogoy Guevarra, D.D.+, Church grave
• 
  Grave
• 
  Interior
• 
  Interior
• 
  Sanctuary
• 
  Columbarium
• 
  Statue inside
• 
  Individual storage of cinerary urns
• 
  Facade of the columbarium
• 
  Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
• 
  Priests' Residence
• 
  St. Joseph Formation Center
• 
  Fr. Mariano Sarili Hall
• 
  Parish Offices

• Roman Catholicism in the Philippines

• Media related to Balanga Cathedral at Wikimedia Commons
• CBCP Diocese of Balanga
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga