No in-person Masses for Sto. Niño feast in January

BASILICA’S VISITORS Only a fraction of the usual throng visit Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu in downtown Cebu City to pray on Thursday with health restrictions still in place against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. —NESTLE SEMILLA

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — To further slow down the spread of COVID-19, all Masses for the 457th Fiesta Señor, or the feast honoring the Sto. Niño (Child Jesus), held in this city every third Sunday of January, will be done online.

The Augustinian fathers, the caretakers of Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu, announced there would be no in-person Masses for the entire duration of the Fiesta Señor celebration next year.

Devotees were, however, advised to join the novena and fiesta Masses through the basilica’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and other media partners. Ten online Masses will be livestreamed daily from Jan. 7 to Jan. 16.

Basilica rector Fr. Nelson Zerda said the decision was made after a series of meetings with officials of Cebu City and other agencies.

The basilica’s open-air Pilgrim Center, however, will be open from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the same period so devotees can light candles and offer prayers.

The original image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu ensconced inside the basilica, which was given as baptismal gift by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Cebu’s Queen Juana in 1521, will be off-limits to the public.

The Fiesta Señor takes place every third Sunday of January. The secular celebration of the feast is staged through the world-famous weeklong Sinulog Festival, which culminates in a mardi gras-like dance parade held also during the third Sunday of January.

Next year’s Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Festival would be the first for the twin events to be held without the millions of people who usually took part in past celebrations.

Christian obligation

Prior to the pandemic, the Fiesta Señor’s religious activities had annually drawn to Cebu between 2 to 4 million Sto. Niño and Marian devotees and pilgrims from different parts of the country and abroad. Their numbers were often double that of tourists who would come here for the Sinulog Festival.

Fr. John Ion Miranda, OSA, head of the safety and security committee for the 457th Fiesta Señor, said there would be two motorcades in lieu of the solemn processions, which usually gathered thousands of devotees before the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Jan. 7, the pilgrim image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu will be brought around Cebu City to mark the start of the novena Masses. Another motorcade will be held on Jan. 15, the eve of the feast, that will traverse the mainland cities of Cebu, Talisay and Mandaue; and Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town on Mactan Island.

Miranda urged parishes in the Archdiocese of Cebu to also hold novena Masses in honor of the Child Jesus so people would no longer troop to the basilica.

“We appeal for understanding of all Cebuanos and devotees of Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu as we take all precautionary measures to protect the health of all. It is our moral and Christian obligation to protect one another against COVID-19,” he said.

While the cases of COVID-19 in Cebu City have dropped, Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, reminded people to remain vigilant.

“We should not be complacent. Let us continue following the health protocols, especially during the Fiesta Señor, to avoid another surge in COVID-19 cases,” he said.

—NESTLE SEMILLA