[2] The parish church is part of the ecclesiastical province of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando, under the Vicariate of Christ The King.

José Seguí, the Archbishop of Manila, visited Pampanga in 1831 and met the secular parish priest of Minalin, Don Quintín Cándido Paríon.

Faustino Diez and the church was turned over to Alcalde (Mayor) Pedro Diaz and to the first native priest P. Macario Panlilio.

Greg Vega both celebrated the historic Mass with Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Minalin Mayor Arturo "Katoy" Naguit as guests.

The spires decorating the bell towers depict a Moorish architecture, hinting of the old Islamic faith of early Minalin residents; none of the other 20 mission churches have similar motifs.

There are several examples of this style in the churches built in the 18th century or before, such as those of Betis, Lipa, San Vicente, Candon, Magsingal and Sarrat.

The peeled palitada (outer layer) reveals the original red brick walls, giving the church its unique old-rose touches.

The most notable and striking architectural feature of the church is its retablo-like façade, the lavishly floral decorations of the main entrance and the windows above it.

An array of coupled Corinthian columns artistically crowd the center of the facade and act as support for the triangular pediment that is topped by a roof lantern or cupola.

[11] During the Spanish era, a lighted beacon was placed on top of the apex of the pediment to guide fishermen as they made their way from the river to the town.

The semi-circular niches hold painted stone statues of various Augustinian saints, designed to blend with the rose windows.

The ancient mural painting (1619) is a primitive-looking map with details of trees, ducks, crows, a boat, a hunter and a crocodile.

It is a tale of "prehistoric landscape of riverine communities", marshes and swamps with birds, agricultural land with damulag (carabao) and a farmer at the background.

[16] The Moorish architecture is evidenced by the motifs: carved ornamental heads of bulig (mudfish), naga (dragon) and dapu (crocodile) – sacramental figures of the old Kapampangan religious belief system.

Comparable to the Muslim Mindanao torogan, the spires of the bell towers depict a Moorish architecture, showing the Islamic faith of early Minalin residents.

Mayor Arturo Naguit restored and preserved the convent mural with the assistance of engineers from Mapúa Institute of Technology.

[17] The many side and back minor altars of Santa Monica Church characterize it as one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the Philippines.

The four capillas posas are concrete arched structures used as "oratory stations" for the Blessed Sacrament during Christ the King, Corpus Christi and other events.

During the Hispanization of Minalin, these altars were used by Filipinos (termed by the Spaniards as Indios) as the church interior was reserved for "peninsulares" (full-blooded Filipino-Spaniards).

The devotion to Our Lady of Consolation began when St. Monica in a vision received a black leather belt from the Blessed Virgin, who assured the holy widow that she would take under her special protection all those who wore it in her honor.

In return, Monica gave it to her son, Augustine, who later changed his ways and eventually became one of the saints in the Roman Catholic Church.

Pedro Galende, director of the San Agustin Museum, the belt is a "symbol of chastity" that represents Mary's Immaculate Conception delivery of Jesus into the world.

Vega announced the discovery of the heart, an unusual bas relief or sculpture carved from an adobe beam supporting the choir loft at the church entry, being hidden for centuries inside the old wooden ceiling.

Lotus flowers with Buddhist motif are carved in one door, while wooden trusses supporting the roof are shaped at the edge like a crocodile reflecting local pre-Hispanic folk beliefs.