Parish of the Holy Sacrifice
- Parish of the Holy Sacrifice or the Church of the Holy Sacrifice, is commonly known as the UP Chapel.
- It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao.
- The church is recognized as a National Historical Landmark and a Cultural Treasure by the National Historical Institute and the National Museum respectively.
- It was designed by the late National Artist for Architecture, Leandro Locsin, one of five National Artists who collaborated on the project.
- Alfredo Juinio served as the structural engineer for the project.
- The dome of the church is supported by pillars located at the sides of the church, so that there are no supports to block the space inside.
- The unique design of the dome allows natural lighting and ventilation.
- At the middle of the dome is a circular skylight, which supports the triangular bell tower.
- The bell tower, then extends to the interior, supporting the crucifix.
- The arrangement of the interior of the church is concentric, with the altar in the middle.
- Initially, Leandro Locsin designed the church for the Ossorio family, who were planning to build a chapel in Negros. Unfortunately, the plans for the chapel were scrapped when Frederic Ossorio, the head of the family, left for the United States.
- In 1955, Father Delaney commissioned Locsin to design a chapel that was open and could easily accommodate 1,000 people.
- The Church of Holy Sacrifice became the first circular chapel with the altar in its center in the country
- It is also the first to have a thin shell concrete dome.
- Being a pioneering structure, it almost suffered a setback during the construction of the dome when the weather suddenly changed as the concrete was being poured. If it had rained, the concrete would have not settled, and the whole project would have been in jeopardy.
- The floor of the church was designed by Arturo Luz, the Stations of the Cross by Vicente Manansala and Ang Kiukok, and the double-sided crucifix and altar base by Napoleon Abueva, all of whom are now National Artists.
- Since then, there have been modifications to the church and its surroundings; the altar base was changed from wood to marble, still by Napoleon Abueva and it is now fenced off, and the once open grounds that surrounded the church are now landscaped.
- On January 12, 2005, the church was recognized as a National Historical Landmark and a Cultural Treasure by the National Historical Institute and the National Museum, respectively.
- During the recognition ceremony, National Historical Institute Chairman Ambeth R. Ocampo lauded the church as a "masterpiece of Filipino artistry and ingenuity".
- Currently, the parish is spearheading a project that aims to restore the dome of the historic church.
- Before the parish of the Holy Sacrifice was created, a university chapel served in the early 1950’s the University of the Philippines community, under the apostolate of the Society of Jesus.
- Fr. John Delaney served as the first Jesuit chaplain.
- The vibrant and growing U.P. Catholic community decided to reconstruct their chapel, and contributed to realize the dream of having a visible symbol of their faith. The faculty pledged a part of their monthly salary, while the students contributed from their own allowances.
- On December 21, 1955, the Archbishop of Manila officiated at the first mass in the newly constructed chapel.
- The festive mood that came with the Christmas season and the community’s gift of a newly constructed chapel was cut short by the tragic news of Fr. Delaney’s death. While enjoying his post Christmas vacation in Bagiuo City that same year, Father Delaney suffered a fatal heart attack.
- On May 1977, the chaplaincy was elevated to a university parish by Jaime Cardinal L. Sin. Msgr. Manny Gabriel became its first parish priest.
