LAOAG CITY, Philippines—Decked out in their best Filipiniana attire, city folk danced on busy streets here on Tuesday to welcome the venerated Santo Niño de Cebu (Holy Child of Cebu), which is on an eight-day tour in Ilocos Norte province.
Carrying posters and streamers, devotees shouted, “Viva Santo Niño!” when the oldest Christian relic in the country arrived at Laoag International Airport here.
Avelina Fe Camacho, 65, a retired teacher from Bacarra town, joined the revelry. Seeing the image of the Santo Niño de Cebu for the first time was a “dream come true,” she said.
“I am excited to see the Holy Child. I believe it’s a blessing for us Ilocanos to welcome him to our community,” said city resident Wilma Viernes.
The Santo Niño de Cebu dates back to the first stages of Catholic evangelization in the Philippines, when it was gifted in 1521 to Rajah Humabon and his wife, Humamay, by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who voyaged around the globe in the service of Spain.
“It’s a huge honor and blessing, the very first time that the Santo Niño de Cebu, the evangelizer of the entire country who Christianized us 500 years ago, will travel to northern Luzon,” said Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos.
Vice Gov. Angelo Marcos Barba and church leaders, accompanied by members of the Knights of Columbus, took official custody of the relic at turnover rites.
The image was then encased in a glass box atop a float and was paraded around the city until its motorcade reached Saint Augustine Parish in Paoay town for Mass and Catholic lay discussions. Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon