The last church building built between 1855-1864 was the biggest church in Bohol before it was completely destroyed by the earthquake of October 15, 2013.
The parish of Loon was established by the Jesuits in 1753 under the curacy of Fray Manuel de Elizalde. The Jesuits built the first church along the shore in Barangay Napo. TheAugustinian Recollects took charge of the town in 1768 following the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire. The first Recollects in Loon described the Jesuit-built church as a shed of wooden posts with a roof of nipa, in bad condition; the convent was not much better. They transferred the town center and church to its present location on a plateau about fifty meters or more above the shore level. A four-flight stairway of 174 stone steps built by the Recollects connects it to Napo, the former seat of the town; a watchtower near the topmost landing serves as lookout tower for pirates. The Recollects built a church c. 1812 that burned down in the 1850s leaving just the front of the church. They began rebuilding the church in 1855. Wood to build the church was carried from the forest of Maitum by forced laborers, who had to beat their way through uncharted trails and across rivers.
This coral-stone church was seen as one of the grandest and finest churches in Visayas, and was also the biggest in Bohol. The Augustinian Recollects constructed the current church in Ionic and Corinthian style, and its facade was known for its symmetry.
After the quake, Loon residents were met with the devastating sight of their old church pulverized, reduced to a pile of rubble with no structure left at all.
The town of Loon in Bohol was one of the areas most affected by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that shook the province and nearby areas on Tuesday morning.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/330979/lifestyle/artandculture/from-treasure-to-rubble-heritage-churches-before-and-after-the-bohol-quake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_churches_in_Bohol#Loon
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