The solemn procession and high mass scheduled this year on January 20 is the religious highlight of the Sinulog, Cebu’s celebration of the feast of the Holy Child Jesus.
During the procession, an of the Sto. Niño is brought out of Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño and placed on top of a carriage that will take it around downtown Cebu City. The image is a replica of the statue left behind by Portuguese and Spanish explorers in 1521 and found preserved in a burned wooden box in 1565.
Led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Augustinian priest Andres de Urdaneta, the Spaniards who discovered the image in 1565 called it miraculous because it survived the fire that gutted the structure that housed it. But the fire had totally blackened the image.
Last year, an estimated 700,000 devotees attended the six-hour procession.
The procession is on foot and is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 20, the day before the Sinulog grand mardi gras. The calendar of events released by organizers indicated that Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will be leading the procession.
In the morning of the procession, Msgr. Cristobal Garcia will lead the re-enactment of the first Christian mass and baptism of Cebu. The event commemorates the baptism of Sugbu (now Cebu) island chief Rajah Humabon, his wife and some 500 of their followers on April 21, 1521, when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan went to Cebu.
After the procession, Bishop John Du will celebrate a pontifical mass. At 8:00 p.m., devotees will dance for an hour the Sinulog, a prayer that is both dance and offering.
Here’s a map of the procession route. Use navigation controls to pan around and zoom into the map.
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