I saw more crucifixes there than in Italy. Here is the world's tallest Virgin Mary statue, built in 2021 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first Spanish missionaries showing up to the Philippines.
This is likely one of the world's most "successful" missionary efforts, where missionaries completely converted a large population, and the conversion stuck long after the era of colonization was over.
This was the case even though Filipino clergy were kept from occupying any positions of power until the early 1900s. The first Filipino cardinal did not take the position until 1960. When the era of colonization ended, Filipinos doubled down on Christianity instead of abandoning it.
I asked Claude why Catholicism was so successful there vs in other parts of Asia, and it noted:
- Local animist traditions weren't as coherent or central as, say Buddhism or Hinduism, so the memetic niche was easier for Catholicism to take over. (This seems to not be the whole story, as the Muslims got there first, and had limited success)
- Missionaries worked hard to learn and incorporate local languages and traditions.
- The missionary work was a central part of the Spanish colonization effort, and church leaders had a lot of administrative control as well as control over education and social mobility.