When you hear “Malate” (ma-la-teh), what first comes to mind? Maybe you got that right, but that’s not the subject matter of this post. We’re talking about the Malate Church.

It’s no wonder that the preceding post is about the Manila Cathedral, as Malate Church is just a couple of hundred meters away, just along Roxas Avenue in Manila City. It’s also now wonder that both churches are lumped together, as both are favorite venues for weddings. In fact, the one and only time I was here, I was attending a wedding (Malate Church also has a reception venue conveniently found just beside it).

Malate Church is just a few meters from Baywalk (right photo below) and the Manila Bay. Separating Baywalk from the church is Roxas Blvd. and the park known as the Liwasang Rajah Sulayman (see statue in photo below). It’s flanked by a number of restaurants, including Aristocrat and Max’s Fried Chicken.

The Malate Church is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. The marker placed by the Historical Research and Markers Committee reveals that the section were Malate Church is found dates back to 1588. The Malate Church was rebuilt after it was damaged during the earthquake of 1863, the same earthquake that damaged the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica.

As noted above, Malate Church is a favorite wedding venue, just like the the Manila Cathedral, even if busy roads run in front and the sides of it. You could see from the first photo that a wedding ceremony is going on. You couldn’t see in the pictures that another bride-groom tandem is having a photo session at the Baywalk. You also couldn’t see that I was almost tempted to join the picture-taking session and post some photos here. Thank God Malate Church is nearby to neutralize the temptation, of taking photos, that is.