[4] Catholic priest Diego de Mojica was said to have constructed the first temporary church made of light materials in 1578.

Jose de San Bartolome completed the transept made of reef stone on 1706,[3] and it was blessed in 1721.

The church was gutted by fire again after a lightning bolt in 1747 and was repaired in 1756 during the time of Don Ramon Orendain.

The former Father Provincial, Pedro Cuesta, demolished the old church which he found too small for the increasing population of the town and started the construction of the new one on the same site in 1851.

[5] The convent built in 1693, of reef stone and huge molave post withstood all the earthquakes until Melchor Fernández constructed a new one in 1792.

[6] On January 16, 2022, the basilica was also declared as the archdiocesan shrine of Santo Niño de Batangan.

The image also sports a crown, holding a globus cruciger and his left hand is in gesture of blessing.

The basilica was designed with a robust exterior in response to the threat posed by the destructive forces of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and typhoon winds.