Ermita Church, as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guia, is located in the district of Ermita in the City of Manila. The church is home to the image the Nuestra Señora de Guia (Our Lady of Guidance) which is considered to be the oldest Marian image in the Philippines.
The church began as a rustic shrine made of bamboo, nipa, and molave wood that was built to house the image of Our Lady of Guidance in the area where it was found in 1571 by Spanish soldiers under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The shrine which eventually became a church was built in 1606 as a hermitage housing for the image and was called La Hermita ("The Hermitage"), thus giving the present district of Ermita its name
