Gregorio Aglipay National ShrineGregorio Aglipay National Shrine is a Registered Property, City of Batac, Ilocos Norte located at Batac, Ilocos Norte, Region I.
The shrine was built in memory of Gregorio Aglipay, patriot-priest, who stood squarely behind the oppressed people of God when he founded his protestant sect known as the Filipino Independent Church. The church was founded during the Filipino-American war with its focus on liberty in religion, political & social terms. He was a former Catholic priest who, due to his support for the Philippine Revolution, was excommunicated and later on founded the Philippine Independent Church aka the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI). The IFI is the third largest Christian denomination in the Philippines, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Iglesia ni Cristo. He was born on May 5, 1860 in Batac, Ilocos Norte. Grew up in the care of his uncle when his parents died when he was still 2 years old.
Aglipay died at the age of 80 on September 1, 1940. He was given an elaborate funeral attended by officials of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Some of his remains lie in state at a large mausoleum called the Aglipay Shrine located at Brgy. Aglipay City of Batac. And the other half of his remains is buried within the Iglesia Filipina Independiente church which is only a few meters away from the shrine.