Built in 1847 by Spanish settlers, San Pedro Cathedral is the oldest church in the Davao City and a recognized National Cultural Treasure. It is named after an Pedro (Saint Peter), the patron saint of Davao. San Pedro street, which leads up to the cathedral, is also the oldest street in Davao.
San Pedro Cathedral was enlarged in the mid-1900s and then redesigned completely in 1964 by Architect Manuel Chiew, who gave the cathedral its distinctly modern design—rounded concrete that seems to evoke a stadium more than a place of worship. In fact, the curved structured is designed to look like the prow of a vinta (traditional boats of Mindanao with sails which incorporate the colors of the Muslim community) on the water, and—with the Christian cross above—represents the convergence of religions on an island where 70% of the population identify themselves as Christian and 20% as Muslim. The daily mass at noon is held in English.
