CBCP leads nationwide drive protecting sacred art, heritage church relics

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is expanding its nationwide campaign to preserve and protect the country’s religious art heritage through a strategic partnership with a private corporate foundation.

Under the arrangement, the CBCP will identify and evaluate more than 100 historic churches, missionary parishes, and rural chapels nationwide to receive a curated collection of antique devotional icons, ceremonial church objects, and sacred art.

CBCP president Archbishop Gilbert Garcera emphasized that safeguarding the Catholic Church's artistic and historical legacy requires broad collaboration across various sectors of society.

"The preservation of our sacred heritage is not the responsibility of the clergy alone," Garcera said. "It is a shared mission involving the Church, the laity, cultural institutions, private foundations, artists, historians, and local communities."

The CBCP will guide the selection of recipient parishes to ensure the objects are housed in locations where they can be properly maintained and returned to active liturgical and devotional use.

The pieces are being provided through Proyekto Custodia: The National Sacred Art and Church Heritage Initiative, organized by the Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation Inc.

The objects originate from the private collection of Philippine Ambassador to Spain and Andorra Philippe J. Lhuillier. His son, Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, said the donation is intended to support the bishops' ongoing efforts to care for sacred artifacts within local parish communities.

Cebuana Lhuillier chief administrative officer Jo-Ann Tacorda added that project coordinators will work directly with the CBCP and local church leadership to assess facility security, environmental conditions, and historical context before transferring any artifacts.