Possible connection of San Sebastian Church to Eiffel Tower.

In 1970, Ocampo published a finding that a famed and legendary architect visited Manila to either refute or confirm reports that an all steel church in Asia had been designed by Gustave Eiffel. Loh Ming Pei, is a Chinese- American architect widely regarded as a master of modern architecture. After inspecting San Sebastian Church, Pei is purported to have made the pronouncement that the metal fixtures and overall structure of San Sebastian bore Eiffel design inclinations.

Official catalogues of Eiffel make reference to the design and exportation in 1875 of pre-fabricated steel pieces for a church to be built in Manila.

First built in 1621, San Sebastian Church suffered much destruction, having been down in 1651 when it was originally made of wood, bamboo and nipa, and then heavily damaged by earthquakes in 1859, 1863, and 1880 after it was rebuilt every time. This led to one Father Esteban Martinez’s decision to have it constructed of imported steel in pre-fabricated pieces that would make it earthquake-resistant.