Bancuro Church Ruins

Bancuro Church Ruins, also known as Simbahang Bato, is a historic stone church ruin located in Barangay Bancuro, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. Built by Augustinian Recollect missionaries in the late 17th to early 18th century, the structure was abandoned after Moro raids and natural deterioration. Today only coral stone walls and foundations remain amid vegetation near the coast, representing one of the oldest Spanish-era religious structures in Oriental Mindoro and a notable heritage landmark.

Visitors can expect to see the remains of a Spanish-era coral stone church consisting of low standing walls, ruined foundations and scattered stone blocks set in a grassy, lightly vegetated coastal area in Barangay Bancuro. The site is open and roofless with no intact interior, surrounded by coconut trees and rural settlement. Visitors can walk around the perimeter, view the stonework up close and take photographs. There are no formal visitor facilities on site.

The Bancuro Church was established as a visita and later parish by Augustinian Recollect missionaries during the Spanish colonial period, generally dated to the late 17th to early 18th century. Constructed of coral stone and lime, it served the early Christian community in northern Naujan before being abandoned following repeated Moro raids and subsequent deterioration. The ruins are among the few surviving Spanish-era ecclesiastical remains in Oriental Mindoro.

The ruins, locally known as Simbahang Bato, are valued as a cultural and religious heritage landmark for the people of Naujan and Oriental Mindoro, representing early Christianity and Spanish missionary architecture in the province. It is visited for heritage appreciation and local historical interest.