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On April 28, 1565, Juan Camus, a sailor in Legaspi’s fleet, found in a modest house of the then Village of Cebu, the image of Santo Niño which at the time, all agreed had been brought from Europe. Deeply impressed by this finding and aware of its significance, Legaspi ordered an official inquiry be conducted.  The document, drawn on May 16 of the same year and still existing in the archives of the Santo Niño Convent of Cebu, tells us from the testimony of eyewitnesses that the image, preserved in almost perfectcondition, was found inside a small pine box. It had on a little shirt and a cap; two of the right hand’s fingers were raised in geseture of blessing, while the left hand held a globe symbolizing the world.

In solemn procession, the image was carried to the provisional Church of Augustinian.

Later, another church was built on the exact locadtion where the image had been found. This is the site of the Santo Niño Church where the Augustinians have cared for the image and the Filipino people have venerated it through the centuries.

An earlier authenticated entry in the Journal of Pigaffeta, a cleark in the Magellan expedition, explains the origin of Santo Niño. On the day Queen Juana of Spain was baptized by Father Pedro Valderrama, chaplain of that expedition, Pigaffeta himself presented her with the image.

During World War II, the whole city of Cebu was heavily bombarded.  Major buildings including the Santo Niño Church were reduced to rubble but the image was found unscathed.  Numerous accounts have been forwarded about miraculous events that are associated with the Santo Niño.  During the fest day of the Santo Niño, faithful believers come to the shrine to offer prayers and to ask favours from the Santo Niño for good health, happiness and other wishes and desires.  These prayers and wishes are usaully verbalized in song and dance by elderly women holding lighted candles.  Anyone who needs the intercession of the Holy Child could approach these human mediators who are usually gathered at the main door of the church.  Volumes of stories abound as to the effectiveness of this folkloric practice.

In the sixties, the Fourth Centennial Celebration of the Christianity of the Philippines was commemorated.  Cebu was the center of the festivities and the Catholic hierarchy in Rome desginated the Santo Niño Church as a Basilica.  As a permanent shrine of the Santo Niño, it attracts the faithful and believers from all walks of life and from different regions of the country.

At present, the Santo Niño Church has been renovated in the interior, to make it a still more fitting shrine for our beloved Santo Niño.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 6:38 pm and is filed under History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.