In Cebu the 'sinulog' of rebirth

Three million at the feast of Santo Niño after the severe trials experienced in the Philippines' second largest city by Covid-19 and the devastation of typhoon Odette. Archbishop Palma: 'We have seen that in times of difficulty Jesus is the hope to cling to'. The story of Maria Leriza who, thanks to this devotion, changed her life by giving up gambling.

Cebu (AsiaNews) - After three years of forced suspension due to the Covid-19, more than three million devotees took part on Sunday 15 January in the celebration of the Santo Niño De Cebu, the popular feast that celebrates the revered local image of the Infant Jesus every year.

In 1565, Spanish invaders found it under some debris in the province of Cebu, after it was allegedly given to the Cebu queen at her baptism by Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese sailor who led the first Spanish expedition to the islands in 1521.

Celebrating the solemn pontifical Mass in the minor basilica, Mgr Jose Serofia Palma, Archbishop of Cebu, said that the 'Santo Niño is our companion, the source of faith in our journey of peace'.

Archbishop Palma also praised the faith and resilience of the people of Cebu, who in addition to Covid-19 have courageously faced other challenges in recent years, such as the devastation created in December 2021 by Typhoon Rai, also known as 'Super Typhoon Odette' in the Philippines, the second most severe after the Typhoon Haiyan disaster of October 2013, with houses and churches washed away by the storm.

"In times of great difficulty," commented the Archbishop of Cebu, "Jesus is the hope to which we can cling, the light that shines ever brighter in the darkness and the source of happiness and peace that nothing and no one in the world can give," the prelate said.

"Cebu has recovered, we have helped each other, and now the tourists do not even see the damage caused by Odette. But this,' he concluded, 'must be an invitation to everyone to build fraternal relations for the sake of peace and to work concretely to protect the environment.

After the Mass, the faithful joined the long procession marked by the 'sinulog' - the traditional dance-prayer in honour of the Santo Niño - that covered more than five kilometres from the minor basilica to the main streets of Cebu city.

In the crowd, many shared their stories of unwavering devotion to this great sign of the Filipino faith. This is the case, for example, of Maria Neriza Lawas, a 65-year-old mother who was an avid gambler in her youth. In 1983, the year she found out she was expecting her third child, she used her earnings from gambling to buy an image of the Santo Niño and her life changed.

Daniella Liz N. Maurecio, on the other hand, is a student from Minglanilla. She often attends church and prays for the gift of wisdom: "I want to inspire my classmates to speak up and support one another as we pursue our aspirations by praying to the Santo Niño".

According to Father Daniel Franklin Pilario, a professor at Adamson Vincentian University in Manila, the feast of Santo Niño is unique in the Philippines: "When young people hold their statues and dance with them, one can only imagine what their prayers are deep in their hearts," he comments.

The Santo Niño festival unites rich and poor, young and old. But, as Fr. Bel R. San Luis, the verbita, reminds us, it is now a matter of translating this witness of faith into our daily lives, which are too often imperfect or irregular: "Bridging the gap between devotions and our behaviour is the real challenge".

Images provided by the Minor Basilica of Santo Niño in Cebu

• Philippines
• Cebu
• Santo Niño
• José Palma
• devotion
• Covid-19
• typhoon Odette