Carmen, Agusan del Norte
Carmen was created into a municipality in 1949, when the "barrio"s of Carmen, Tagcatong, Cahayagan and San Agustin were separated from the municipality of Nasipit and constituted into the newly created town, by virtue of "Republic Act No. 380" which was approved on June 15, 1949. This law was sponsored by Congressman Marcos M. Calo. The town came into being on July 1, 1949.
Iglesia El Carmen
When the necessary canonical authorizations were granted, the priests of the Society of Jesus received the church and residence of El Carmen in January 1916. The sanctuary had to be repaired a little over a year later due to an earthquake. The painting and artistic restoration was performed by brother Frías S.J. He is the same artist who painted the image of the Lady of Guadalupe in the Gothic altar of the Salesian workshops of the School of Arts and Trades in Santa Tecla. The crucified Christ of the altar and the screen of the main gate as well as the confessional booths and pulpit were carved in these workshops.
On January 13 and February 11, 2001, the territory of El Salvador was struck by two powerful earthquakes of 7.7 and 6.1 magnitudes in the Richter scale. These events completely damaged Iglesia El Carmen, prompting the Society of Jesus to initiate plans to raise funds in order to demolish the existing structure and begin building a new church. Public authorities in El Salvador have reportedly delayed this procedure because they want to make sure that the structures of the church cannot be rescued before they authorize the demolition of this cultural and historical milestone of Nueva San Salvador. The "El Carmen Project" is a non-profit foundation that has been set up by Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" to attract and administer donations for the reconstruction of the church.