Our Lady of the Assumption Shrine Complex in Dauis is currently being developed into a pilgrimage center for Marian devotees and a tourism hub that promotes the culture of the town. A Spanish watchtower built in 1774, beautiful church ceiling paintings dating back to the 1920s, and Our Lady of the Assumption Shrine Church.

The town of Dauis Renaissance Program (renaissance from the French word for “rebirth”), this endeavor originated from the Dauis Assumption Development Master Plan, which was formulated by the lay leaders of the Church through its Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) on a series of participatory processes.

With the physical plan expected to cost Our Lady of the Assumption Parish a sum of P70 million, the PPC called for aid from generous benefactors.

After almost two years of discussions, a groundbreaking cooperation agreement was signed on June 24, 2008 between Bishop Medroso and Bea Zobel Jr. to establish the Dauis Renaissance Program. The program seeks to implement significant aspects of the Dauis Assumption Development Master Plan, namely, the restoration of the Assumption Shrine Complex and the creation f new means of livelihood for the community.

As a result, Dauis Renaissance Program achieved major breakthroughs. From a rundown state, the Dauis Rectory Courtyard, using the program’s concept of “adaptive reuse,” was rehabilitated and upgrade.

Now officially called Dauis Pilgrim- Heritage Center, the site today speaks impeccably of a blueprint that transformed the old Dauis Rectory Courtyard not only as a key heritage site in Dauis but also as a center of innovation and pride for creative industries that grassroots community.
Handumanan Shop (Boholano for “souvenir”) showcases local products from the town of Dauis such as colonial inspired fine jewelries- the shop’s bestsellers- and wood products carved by Dauis craftsmen. The shop intends to develop and promote entrepreneurship and local craftsmanship in Dauis and is presently reviving the town’s jewelry industry which slowly died in the 1960’s. Other must-see-and-buy products in the shop are the table runners, local hand bags, and religious items that come from nearby Bohol Towns.

Cafė Lawis, meanwhile, is Dauis Pilgrim- Heritage Center’s premier coffee and snack shop where one can savor innovative food that is uniquely Dauisanon and Boholano. Presently, Cafė Lawis is training out-of-school youth from Dauis as waiters, while simultaneously molding them to be entrepreneurs.

Assumpta Museum is the center’s storyteller. It currently displays as exhibit featuring the story of the town of Dauis Assumption Development Master Plan. Soon, the program will be training members of the community of Dauis to run the museum as tour guides.

With the help of the Dauis Renaissance Program, the Dauis Pilgrim- Heritage Center is now beginning to foster a sense of pride and identity among the people of Dauis, transforming a once silent icon of the past into what it is today- a driving force and a marketplace for people’s skills that create economic activities spurred primarily by the people of Dauis themselves.

Recognizing the humble pursuits of the Dauis Renaissance Program, Particulary its conservation efforts, the National Historical Institute declared the two-hectare Assumption Shrine Complex, including the former Dauis Rectory Courtyard, a National Historical Landmark on May 16, 2009.

Hopefully, with the introduction of these developments that are now making strides in Dauis and in the province, Bohol will not only be known as a prime tourist destination bit also as a place where new and innovative ways of adapting progress through sustainable heritage conservation and community development not as two programs but as one.