Cebu’s Sto. Niño feast kicks off Jan. 11

DEVOTION Thousands of devotees fill the outdoor Pilgrim Center of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in Cebu City during the pontifical Mass on Jan. 15, 2023, that culminates the 458th anniversary of the feast of the Holy Child Jesus, or the Fiesta Señor. —BASILICA DEL STO. NIÑO FACEBOOK

CEBU CITY—It’s all systems go for this year’s celebration of the Fiesta Señor, the biggest religious festivity in Cebu’s Catholic calendar in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño, or the Child Jesus, that has been drawing millions of devotees to the city coming from all parts of the world.

The Augustinian friars of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño said that the 459th year celebration of Fiesta Señor will officially start on Jan. 11 with the 4 a.m. annual “Walk with Jesus,” a penitential foot procession from Fuente Osmeña Circle in the uptown part of the city to the basilica grounds in downtown Cebu.

This year’s celebration carries the theme “Sto. Niño: Magnet of Love in the Synodal Church.”

Millions of devotees were expected to troop to the basilica and participate in the two weeks of various activities held in honor of the Child Jesus.

‘Traslacion,’ fluvial parade

The religious activities are distinct from the Sinulog Festival, the secular festivity also held in honor of the Sto. Niño that are held during the same period and will culminate with a grand dance parade on Jan. 21, the Sto. Niño feast day.

Signages, communion kiosks, large LED screens, and several television monitors were mounted inside the basilica complex and the adjoining streets for people who may not be able to enter the churchyard.

Except on Jan. 11 and Jan. 19 when there are dawn processions, 11 Masses will be held at the basilica’s outdoor Pilgrim Center every day leading to the feast of the Sto. Niño held every third Sunday of January, which this year falls on Jan. 21.

As in previous years, the “traslacion,” or ritual transfer of the images of the Sto. Niño and the Our Lady of Guadalupe, will start after the 5:30 a.m. Mass on Jan. 19, a Friday, from the basilica to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Cebu City’s adjoining city of Mandaue.

After which, the two images will be brought to Nuestra Señora de Regla National Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island, in time for the early morning fluvial procession along Mactan Channel on Jan. 20 that will bring back the images to the basilica.

After the fluvial procession, a reenactment of the country’s first Catholic Mass, baptism and wedding will be done at the basilica’s Pilgrim Center to be followed by the grand procession of the Sto. Niño image along the main streets of Cebu City in the afternoon.

The Augustinians fathers—the caretakers of the basilica and the Sto. Niño image that was given as baptismal gift by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Cebu’s Queen Juana in 1521—reminded the public to be careful as the procession will pass through roads affected by the ongoing construction of Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT).

“For safety purposes, we urge all devotees of Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu who will join the processions to be always mindful of the yellow separator of CBRT development in Osmeña Boulevard In coordination with the Cebu City government headed by Mayor Michael Rama, we will take necessary measures for the safety of the devotees during the processions,” the basilica advisory read.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma will preside over the 6 a.m. pontifical Mass at the basilica on Jan. 21, the feast day. INQ