The San Isidro Labrador Parish Church, usually called Lazi Church, is one of the best-known Spanish-era church complexes on Siquijor. Together with its large convent, it was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2001. It is also an active Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Dumaguete, so it is a place of worship as well as a heritage site.
\n\nLazi was formerly called Tigbawan. According to published church histories, it became a parish independent of the town of Siquijor on 8 August 1857. Siquijor town had been the island's first parish, founded in 1783 under diocesan priests. Augustinian Recollect friars took over the island's missions in the 1790s and went on to organize further parishes, including Lazi.
\n\nThe stone church standing today was completed in 1884 by Filipino artisans, according to the historical marker at the site, and its bell tower was finished the following year. The convent, made of coral stone and hardwood, was begun in 1887 and completed in 1891. The marker credits the Recollect priest Fr. Toribio Sánchez with supervising the construction of the church and convent.
\nThe church is generally described as Neoclassical in style and built of coral (sea) stone and wood. The entry for the complex on UNESCO's tentative list mentions original retablos (altarpieces), two pulpits, wood floors laid in a herringbone pattern and walls about a meter thick. One 2025 heritage feature adds that molave, a dense native hardwood valued for its resistance to termites and decay, was used for beams, floors and framing. The historical marker calls the convent one of the largest in the Philippines.
\n\nThree kinds of recognition are commonly cited for the complex:
\nThe UNESCO entry needs a careful reading. In May 2006 the Philippines submitted Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension) to the Tentative List, which is a preliminary step and not the same as inscription on the World Heritage List. The extension groups five churches, all National Cultural Treasures: Boljoon (Cebu), Guiuan (Samar), Lazi (Siquijor), Loboc (Bohol) and Tumauini (Isabela). The Philippine submission, published by UNESCO, describes them as 18th- and 19th-century Philippine adaptations of Western architectural styles, and as an extension the group would be added to the Baroque Churches of the Philippines already on the World Heritage List. Lazi is nominated, not inscribed, so check UNESCO's current listing for any change.
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