Santo Niño de Cebu devotees join fluvial procession on Pasig River

By: Jocelyn R. Uy, Maricar B. Brizuela - 9 years ago

VISITOR FROM CEBU Devotees take pictures with their cell phones and try to touch the image of the Santo Niño de Cebu as it is loaded onto the carriage in Guadalupe, Makati City, after a fluvial procession on the Pasig River on Sunday. The pilgrim image is on a five-day visit to Manila as part of the 450th anniversary of its “Kaplag” (discovery) by the Order of St. Augustine in 1565. RAFFY LERMA

Seeking miracles in troubled times and giving thanks for answered prayers, throngs of devotees of the Child Jesus were drawn to the first ever fluvial procession of the image of the historic Santo Niño de Cebu on the Pasig River on Sunday.

The fluvial parade was part of a yearlong celebration of the 450th anniversary of “Kaplag,” or the discovery of the centuries-old image in a partially scorched hut in Cebu in April 1565 by Augustinian friars.

Among those who joined the fluvial parade was 63-year-old Dory Baloja, a devotee since 2007.

“The Santo Niño has given me so many blessings. He has granted all my wishes. That’s why I am here,” said Baloja, a retired government employee.

She said the Child Jesus had kept her family healthy and helped her provide for the needs of her four children, helping them finish their schooling.

In tears and in deep prayer, Mila from Cavite joined the crowd that escorted the carriage bearing the holy image from Manila Cathedral, where a Mass was held before the procession, to the nearby Intramuros ferry boat terminal.

The river procession ended at Guadalupe Viejo in Makati City, where a foot procession was held at Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish.

Mila, a 56-year-old mother [she declined to give her full name], said she was having a conflict with her daughter, who lives in New York, and needed the Santo Niño’s help.

“I am about to see her this week so I am really asking for the guidance of the Santo Niño … to help me choose the right words when I talk to my daughter,” she told the Inquirer, her left hand never leaving the base of the moving carriage bearing the icon.

Constant companion

The Santo Niño has been her guiding light for the last 20 years, she said.

“It all started when I was still young,” she said. “I had a boyfriend then but I had a lot of dreams. I prayed for guidance because I wanted to finish school and was not ready to commit (to a relationship).”

Putting her faith on the Child Jesus, Mila got the courage to walk away from the relationship and finished college, earning two degrees—one on hotel and restaurant management and another on marketing.

For years, she worked in a cruise ship that allowed her to travel a lot.

“I always brought a small image of the Santo Niño wherever I went, even up to now. I do not leave the house without it. He is my companion,” Mila said.

Devotees along the way

It took more than an hour for the ferry boat carrying the religious image to reach Makati from Intramuros, where a Mass had been celebrated at 7 a.m.

Along the way, devotees waved from their homes, some also holding wooden figures of the Child Jesus.

The usual 45-minute travel time from the Plaza Mexico ferry station in Intramuros to Guadalupe took longer because the abundance of water lilies on the Pasig River slowed down the ferries.

Augustinian friars also had a foot procession from Manila Cathedral to the Plaza Mexico station, then from the Guadalupe station to Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish in Guadalupe Viejo.

Politicians, too

On arrival at the Guadalupe station, the image was received by notable personalities, like acting Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Cora Jimenez.

While the image was being prepared for its procession to the Augustinian church in Makati, suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay arrived with barangay (village) leaders.

Binay joined the foot procession. Peña also stayed close to the image’s carosa, which he helped push all the way to the church.

At Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish Church, hundreds of devotees also waited for the Santo Niño’s arrival.

The relic, which arrived in Manila on Friday from its home at Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu in Cebu City, is expected to be taken to the Santo Niño parish in Biñan City in Laguna province.

The Santo Niño de Cebu is replete with stories of miracles, according to Fr. Jonas Mijares, rector of Minor Basilica of the Holy Child in Cebu.

He cited a recent fluvial procession on Mactan Channel, where two security personnel of a government official in Ozamiz City fell into the water and were believed to have drowned.

But later at a Mass at the cathedral, the two showed up and recounted that a boy had fished them out of the water.

“Another miracle that we attribute to the Santo Niño is that no one was hurt when a part of the façade crumbled during the earthquake in 2013,” Mijares said.

“There has always been a crowd in front of the cathedral. But for some reason on the day of the earthquake, it was deserted,” he said.

Caring for environment

The pilgrim image that sailed down the Pasig river on Sunday was one of seven replicas of the 4-centuries-old icon of the Holy Child given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan as a baptismal gift to Rajah Humabon in 1521.

The original icon from Flanders, Belgium, never leaves the basilica for security purposes, said Fr. Harold Rentoria of the Order of St. Augustine.

“The image is really very old and there will really be a lot of security concerns and it will be a national issue if it will be brought out of the cathedral,” Rentoria told reporters.

Rentoria said the organizers of the anniversary of “Kaplag” decided to stage a fluvial parade for the first time on Pasig River to send a message to the faithful on the urgent need to care for the environment.

“This is in support of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si (Peace be to You),” Rentoria said, referring to the papal encyclical on global warming and environmental degradation, with an urgent call for people across the globe to take a unified action.

He also said the fluvial procession was an opportunity for Filipino Catholics to be reminded of their faith and the need to deepen it.

“The Santo Niño is the symbol of our Catholic faith and as Christians, we need to deepen our faith and not focus only on the externals,” the priest said.

Internet or Church?

During the Mass at the Manila Cathedral, Fr. Reginald Malicdem, newly installed rector of the cathedral, reminded the faithful to be “full of life” in serving God and neighbors, just like the Santo Niño.

He lamented that nowadays, people burst with energy when they go out partying with friends, traveling to beautiful places, and browsing the Internet and social networking sites, like Facebook and Instagram, among other secular activities.

“But they drag themselves going to the Church and feel sleepy when listening to the Word of God,” he said in his homily.

Echoing Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle’s message earlier, Malicdem encouraged the faithful to emulate the Santo Niño by following God’s will.