Agoo, La Union Etymology

The name "Agoo" is believed to have originated from a native tree locally known as "aroo" in Ilocano and "agoho" in Tagalog (Casuarina equisetifolia), commonly referred to as the whistling pine.

This pine-like evergreen species is known for its slender, needle-like foliage and the distinctive whistling sound produced by the wind passing through its branches. Historically, the tree grew abundantly along the riverbanks and the forested western coastline of Agoo, playing a significant role in the town's natural landscape. Its prevalence in the region is thought to have influenced the naming of the town

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoo

Special credits: https://www.facebook.com/bikeme.eli

Church in town: 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲

The Minor Basilica and Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, also known as Santa Monica Parish Church and Agoo Basilica, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Agoo, La Union, Philippines. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the venerated title of Our Lady of Charity.

The current Basilica is the seat of the Santa Monica Parish of the Diocese of San Fernando de La Union under the Vicariate of Saint Francis Xavier, now under the leadership of parish priest Alfonso V. Lacsamana and parish vicar Liberato A. Apusen.

Pope John Paul II raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica via the pontifical decree Signum illud Sanctuariumque on 15 July 1982. Pope Francis granted a decree of pontifical coronation to its enshrined Marian image on 29 April 2024. The rite of coronation was executed on 6 December 2024.

The parish was founded in 1578 by Franciscan friars John Baptist Lucarelli of Pesaro, Italy, and Sebastián de San Francisco of Baesa, Spain. The original church was constructed with native materials, nipa and bamboo (in Barangay Nagreban or Nagrugcan), under its patron saint, Francis of Assisi. In 1598, Saturmino Franco, Casimiro Melgosa, and Aquilino García finished a three-tiered bell tower for the church. In the same year, the Augustinians named Saint Monica as the town's new patron saint.

On March 16, 1892, a massive earthquake destroyed the church, paving the way for the reconstruction of the shrine of "Nuestra Señora de Caridad" in 1893. It was later demolished and replaced with the present church in 1975.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Basilica_Minore_of_Our_Lady...

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

Agoo became the center of the campaign of pacification and conquest, not only of the surrounding towns that would later become La Union but of the mountain tribes in the Cordilleras as well. The two missionaries formally proclaimed Agoo as a civic unit. naming it after the river along whose banks it was built.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐨:

Museo de Iloko and Chowking restaurant (corner view) (McArthur Highway, Agoo, La Union)

- Minor Basilica and Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Charity

- Agoo Eco Park

- Museo Iloko

- Agoo Aplaya

- Eagle of the North Park

𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐨:

- None in the list

𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐨𝐨:

- Judiel Nieva (a Filipino transgender woman, actress, and businesswoman, notable for her claims of seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary atop a guava tree in Agoo, La Union)

- James Sena (PBA player, Blackwater Bossing)