Panay Church In 1566, Fray Martín de Rada is said to have preached the Gospel in Bamban (Pan-ay) and from there he proceeded to evangelize Dumangas to the south. The Augustinians continued to spread their net of evangelization to the south and west of Pan-ay until they had established footholds in the whole island. By the late 1500s, they had been had been the sole evangelizers of Panay island until the Jesuits arrived at this time.
The church is best known for its 10.4 ton bell popularly called dakong lingganay (meaning big bell). Juan Reina, a town dentist and noted metal caster and blacksmith was commissioned by Fr. Jose Beloso to cast the largest bell in the Philippines. It was cast in Panay from 70 sacks of gold and silver coins donated by the townsfolk. The bell was completed in 1878 and measured 7 feet in diameter, 5 feet in height and weighed 10 tons, 400 kilograms or just over 10 metric tons. It was located in the church’s five-storey.
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