Santo Niño de Cebu devotees join fluvial procession on Pasig River

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.