From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compostela is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 39,167.
Compostela is part of a metropolitan area informally called as Metro Cebu.
History
In the year 1844, a Spanish captain by the name of Manuel Aniceto del Rosario was commissioned by the higher Spanish authorities to establish local government units on the northern part of Cebu starting from what is now known as the town of Compostela as far north as what is presently called the town of Borbon. Compostela was among the early barrios of the Municipality of Danao established by Captain del Rosario. The newly establish barrio was named Compostela upon the suggestion of Father Jose Alonzo, a Roman Catholic friar who, by some historical account, reportedly came from the town of Compostela in Spain and brought along with him the image of the town’s patron saint, Senor Santiago de Apostol, Subsequently thereafter, Father Alonzo was designated as the first parish priest of the newly established barrio of Compostela. Adopting Senor Santiago de Apostol as the parish patron saint, Father Alonzo spearheaded the construction of the parish chapel out of light materials. As the population grew, the Spanish church authorities decided to elevate the chapel into a church so that in the year 1866 the Roman Catholic Church was constructed in the same site replacing the old chapel. Since then up to the present time, the same structure continues to be the major place of worship among the Catholic faithfuls in Compostela.
