The Queen of Peace Church in Bacolod City is located inside the St. John Institute (SJI) campus better known as Hua Ming in a 5,000-sq. m. lot donated by Alfredo Montelibano Sr. The SJI and the Queen of Peace Church are still referred to as Hua Ming by the locals which came from Hua meaning “admirable,” “glorious” and ming for “China.”
Queen of Peace Church was designed by Architect Eduardo Uychiat like a flower on its top view and a crown when viewed on the ground. The church’s cornerstone was laid in 1964 by Bishop Yap who also inaugurated the church in its completion in 1966. The church was constructed at P550,000 budget which is was considered as the “most expensive construction venture in Bacolod in 1964.”
The first time I went inside the Queen of Peace Church was when I went with a group photo documenting Negros Occidental Catholic churches. Repainting was being done inside the church at that time in preparation for the SJI’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations.
The Queen of Peace Church and St. John Institute (Hua Ming) are located at Capitol Shopping Center, the Chinatown of Bacolod City. The 27-hectare Capitol Shopping Center was developed by the Montelibano family and offered on an easy term to the Chinese businessmen so they can start over after the big fire in 1955 burned down their business establishments in downtown Bacolod.
The Queen of Peace Church looked like a giant crown from a distance thus it’s not surprising that it easily became an architectural landmark in Negros Occidental. It’s dome has a circular stained glass windows on top of the altar. This is what can be seen as a crown from a distance and it gives natural light to the altar. Because of the crown design of the church, the pews are arranged in semi-circle with the altar at the center. At the altar floats the wooden statue of the Queen of Peace which is a masterpiece of Maximo Vicente, the country’s foremost wood carver of religious icons. The church is perhaps the only air-conditioned church in Bacolod City.
