Manila Chinese Cemetery, UST and San Sebastian Church, Manila, Philippines

Around Manila for Black Saturday 2010.

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines.

Unibersidad ng Santo Tomás) , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the Philippines and in Asia and is one of the world's largest Catholic universities in terms of enrollment found on one campus.

The only Pontifical University in Asia and UST is the only university, Catholic or not, to have been visited by two popes three times: once by Pope Paul VI on Nov. 28, 1970, and twice by Pope John Paul II on Feb. 18, 1981 and January 13, 1995

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The Manila Chinese Cemetery (華僑義山) is the second oldest cemetery in Manila after La Loma Cemetery and was designated as the resting place for the Chinese citizens who were denied burial in Catholic cemeteries during the Spanish colonial period. The cemetery was witness to many executions during World War II. Among them were Girl Scouts organizer Josefa Llanes Escoda, literary geniuses Rafael Roces and Manuel Arguilla, star athlete-turned-guerrilla spy Virgilio Lobregat, and Chinese Consul General Yang Guangsheng. Apolinario Mabini was also buried in the cemetery before his remains were transferred to Batangas.


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The Basilica Minore de San Sebastián, better known as San Sebastián Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Manila, the Philippines. It is the seat of the Parish of San Sebastian and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Completed in 1891, San Sebastián Church is noted for its architectural features. An example of the revival of Gothic architecture in the Philippines, it is the only all-steel church or basilica in Asia. It has also been implausibly reputed to be the first prefabricated building in the world, and more plausibly claimed as the only prefabricated steel church in the world.

In 2006, San Sebastian Church was included in the Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site. It was designated as a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1973