Asia's Oldest Church Clock

One of the biggest and oldest church clocks in all Asia is found in the centuries old Roman Catholic Basilica in the ancient but progressive town of Tayabas, Quezon, formerly Cabezera (provincial capital) of Quezon province.

Located at the church belfry, the ancient clock of Tayabas measures one half meter tall and 42 centimeters in circumference. The hour hand measures one half meter while the minute hand is 62 centimeters long.

A 70 kilo heavy weight runs the hour hand while a 140 kilo heavy weight operates the whole clock.

The heavy weight is suspended from an old steel cable attached to the ancient church clock. The heavy weight strikes a giant bell to announce the time at intervals of every one and a half hour.

Dr. Avelino A. Obispo, a businessman and civic leader of Tayabas, said the ancient church clock was erected in the St. Michael Basilica way back in 1911. The giant church clock, the only one of its kind in Luzon, came all the way from Europe, Dr. Obispo added.

He said that during the Second World War, the clock was heavily damaged and for the next 50 years, it was abandoned and almost forgotten by the people.

However, in 1971, a group of civic spirited and concerned Tayabense parishioners led by Msgr. Gregorio Salvatus, Juan Rosales and Daniel Riola, spearheaded the repair and rehabilitation of the ancient church clock.

The group hired the services and expertise of Agapito Zafrance, a clock repairer and inventor, who reassembled and repaired the damaged parts of the ancient church clock.

Zafrance was assisted by his three sons, expert clock repairers in their own right, in the repairs and rehabilitation of the timepiece.

According to Dr. Obispo, the Tayabas church clock is one of the oldest existing church clocks in all Asia.

The lumbering clock has become one of the two major attractions of the town’s minor basilica, one of the oldest Catholic churches in this part of the country.

The other attraction, which lures tourists and visitors to the ancient town of Tayabas, is the big bronze bells located at the church belfry of the basilica overlooking the whole town of Tayabas and nearby Lucena City.

From the church belfry, one can see in the distance the high rise buildings of the city and even the island province of Marinduque.

The giant bronze bells, with Spanish lettering date back to the 16th century.

Numbering six, the giant bronze bells are tied to an old wooden platform in the church belfry. To reach the giant bells, one has to climb a crumbling stairway of old abode.

The church tower is as tall as a six storey edifice. The bells, the biggest measuring more than one meter long, has a Spanish inscriptions and names of Roman Catholic saints.

Up to his very day, residents of Tayabas, Quezon are puzzled as to how and when the big bronze bells were brought up to the belfry.

A retired Roman Catholic cleric, who was formerly the parish priest of Tayabas, said another ancient church bell is buried underneath the basilica for unknown reasons.