Santo Niño de Cebú
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The Santo Niño de Cebú ("Holy Child of Cebu") is a Roman Catholic figure of the Child Jesus. The figure is clothed in robes, for centuries the Santo Niño served as the patron saint of Cebu and continues to be celebrated at the Sinulog, the primary festival of Cebú. It is located at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City, Cebu, in the Philippines.
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[edit] History
In April 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in the service of Charles I of Spain, arrived in Cebu during his voyage to find a westward route to the Indies [1]. He persuaded Rajah Humabon and his wife Hara Amihan, to pledge their allegiance with Spain. They were later baptized into the Catholic faith, taking the Christian names Carlos and Juana. Magellan gave Juana the Santo Niño as a symbol of the alliance. However, Magellan died during a dispute with tribes in Mactan Island.
The Spaniards returned to the Philippines in February 1565. Cebu was the settlement of Basque explorer Miguel López de Legazpi, who would later founded Manila. He defeated Rajah Tupas, the chieftain of Cebu and nephew of Rajah Humabon, on April 27, and occupied the villages. The Santo Niño was found by Juan Camus a soldier of López de Legazpi, relatively unscathed in a burnt-out hut. This event was quickly acknowledged as miraculous, and a church was later constructed on the area of the discovery. Today, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño is a historical and religious landmark in Cebu, with devotees forming long line up to pay their respects to the Holy Child.
[edit] Feast
The Holy See has approved special liturgical texts for use during the local Feast of the Santo Niño in the Philippines, set on the third Sunday of January. The festival that follows is known as the Sinulog, which combines the festivities and religious devotion of the Cebuano people.
[edit] Patron saint
The Santo Niño was considered to be the patron saint of Cebu. However, the Santo Niño is a representation of Jesus Christ as a child. The Catholic Church in the Philippines sets the Holy Child as an example of humility, and as a celebration of the Incarnation. Many Cebuanos do not consider the Christmas season over until the Feast of the Santo Niño.
In 2002, the Archbishop of Cebu, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, declared Jesus' mother Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the official patron saint of Cebu. This upset some of the Santo Niño followers, who felt that the declaration demoted the Holy Child. However, the declaration is consistent with Catholic thought requiring a patron saint be a human saint who has gone to his or her heavenly reward and who prays to God on behalf of the living, rather than a divine being himself.
Since the Holy Child is a representation of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, he cannot, as God, be considered a patron. In that sense, Cardinal Vidal's move was to actually install a patron saint for Cebu, when before there was none. He did not, however, abolish the feast or the traditional mardigras parade.
[edit] External links
- Original Image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu
- Cebu Tourist Spot: Sto. Niño
- Santo Niño Online- A blog connecting Santo Niño devotees worldwide
- Snr. Sto. Niño Flickr Page
[edit] References
- Sto. Nino de Cebu. http://www.malapascua.de/Cebu/Cebu_6__Santo_Nino/cebu_6__santo_nino.html
- Snr. Sto. Nino de Cebu Flickr Discussion Page. http://www.flickr.com/groups/ssndc/discuss/
