Inside the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis

Magnificent Interior of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis

On my way out of the church grounds of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis, I went past the other side of the church and noticed that the door was open. Finally, I am able to enter one of their churches since they seem to close whenever there are no services. As expected, the inside was vast. The church can easily hold more than a thousand people here. The ceiling of the church is painted with scenes from the Holy Bible and mostly from the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, after all this church is dedicated to Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ.

Scene from one of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary

The ceiling is painted with a style called trompe o’eil, where the two dimensional painting is done such that it looks like it is three dimensional. The windows of the church are usually taken into account and sometime fake windows are painted so as to give the painting a “light source”. The end result never fails to astound me since one can easily think that the ceiling was carved. I’m not sure what would be the more impressive feat, a carved ceiling or a two dimensional painting painted to look three dimensional. This painting style is quite common in the churches of Bohol. Worth mentioning is the ceiling of San Augustin Church in Manila also has this painting style.

View of the Church from the Aisle

The big windows provide plenty of light to the church. As I was going to the back of the church to take photos. I noticed that the back or rather the entrance of the church is also littered with bird droppings. I would help that the parishioners clean this part of the church since it is quite unhealthy. Anyway, there were some old ladies going around and cleaning the pews of the Church. In front near the altar, I noticed that there was a commotion, so I went there to investigate.

Some Commotion at the Altar

Apparently, they were a group of Korean tourists talking to the old ladies maintaining the church. There were some old ladies fetching water from a well in front of the altar. A lady informed us that during the second world war. The Japanese were on the retreat and started to kill the villagers. The villagers all sought refuged in the church. The Japanese in turned poisoned all their water sources so that they will slowly die of thrist. It was then that a well as discovered right in front of the altar. The water from the well sustained the people until the Japanese left. This was attributed to a miracle from Mary and is now called Mama Mary’s Well.

Fetching Water from the Well

Amusingly, the well has a sign which says that the well is sacred and is not a wishing well. The old lady continued on by pointing out that the church is surrounded by salt water but the water in the well is fresh, further attesting to the miracle. It is said that believers who drink the waters of the well get cured of their maladies. The ladies will gladly fill up a bottle of water for any who want. The Korean tourists willingly obliged. I didn’t have an empty water bottle at that time so I was not able to get my bottle of miraculous water. Too bad.

Mama Mary's Well

I was lucky that the church was actually open. This turned out to be one of the more interesting churches I have visited so far. Not only is that church beautiful and full of history, it also has it own story to tell. The church of dauis is not really on of the more visited churches here in Bohol, and sometimes I would prefer that it stay this way. So for people who are into culture or religious pilgrimage, Bohol certainly is a very rewarding place to be in.

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