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Manila was once called the “Paris of the East” for its splendid architecture and art. The French connection, however, has been erroneously attributed to the all-metal church on Pasaje del Carmen Street in the Quiapo district for years—that Gustave Eiffel himself had something to do with its construction. The locals of the parish, particularly the Augustinian Recollects who supervise the church, and the individuals fighting for the structure’s preservation take this as a mere urban legend. Still, they firmly believe that the towering San Sebastian Basilica is a treasure of Philippine architecture.

People flock to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian to worship God and venerate the beautiful image of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, or Our Lady of Mt Carmel, that has been enshrined in the parish for 400 years now. The church was founded in 1621 on what was once a marshland called Calumpang. The land was donated by Don Bernardino