Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sto. Niño de Cebu
The inhabitants of our Archipelago were leisurely wallowing in the muddy pool of idolatry when Almighty God through His infinite mercy deigned to inspire the Kings of Castile for the discovery of these scattered islands, in order to spread the lights of the Gospel by which the natives would know the true path that leads to everlasting happiness for which they were created.
For this cause, King Philip II of Spain sent an order to the Viceroy of Mexico, Don Luis de Velasco to prepare another expedition in spite of the tragic death of Magellan in Mactan Island and the terrible Loss of men as well as ships in the preceding expeditions.
At that time, there lived a Spanish Augustinian priest by the name of Andres de Urdaneta, who was once a marine captain under the expedition of General Loaisa. Providence spared Urdaneta from the tragedy of wars and sea dangers in the Marianas and the Moluccas Islands for he was to be the standard bearer of the true faith to the Filipino people.
King Philip II wrote to the good friar telling him that since he had been a sea captain and a respected mariner who knew well the seas of these islands, he should go with the expedition and that he should be the first pilot. In spite of his advanced age and of his retirement in the monastic solitude, Urdaneta was not afraid to expose himself anew to sea dangers. His lone desire was to sacrifice himself for the salvation of the natives. In obedience of His Majesty, the King of Spain and to his religious superior, he readily prepared himself for another expedition towards the land of the rising sun.
The Viceroy and the Audiencia of Mexico, confident in the discreet knowledge and wisdom of Father Urdaneta as well as in his skill in things of the sea, gave him the authority to choose a General for the Armada. Without hesitation and delay he pointed to Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi as the right man to assume the post.
Humanly speaking, it is but natural to choose a General for an Armada from those who have been used to the fatigues of sea life, skilled in the military art, and that it is a great folly to make such a General of a man like Legazpi who had never been a soldier or a mariner but, undoubtedly, this selection was divinely inspired. God wanted to show to the world that the new expedition did not come solely from the work of man but from the disposition of the Eternal Wisdom, whose primordial desire is everybody’s salvation.
Miguel de Legazpi was an “Alcalde” of the City of Mexico. He was a man of noble heart and a fervent devotee to the Most Holy Name of Jesus. In the parish of St. Augustine, Mexico City, he founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in which he became the first president and “hermano mayor.” Because of his love for Jesus, God chose Legazpi only to be rewarded by the finding of the Image of the Holy Child Jesus in Cebu.
From Port Natividad, Legazpi embarked on November 21, 1564 with five Augustinian priests, namely: Frs. Andres Urdaneta, Martin de Rada, Diego de Herrera, Andres de Aguirre and Pedro Gamboa. Legazpi confided the whole Armada to the protection of the Child Jesus. On April 27, 1565, they landed at the Island of Cebu. The natives, fearing that Legazpi came to make revenge of the death of Magellan and ignoring the noble intentions of the good Friars, fled to the hills.
On April 28, 1565, while strolling along the deserted places of Cebu and extinguishing the fire that licked the houses, Legazpi’s soldiers came to a place where a small house was spared by the fire, perhaps because of the presence of the Image of the Holy Child. Entering into the house, Mariner Juan de Camus found a box that contained the Image of the Holy Child clothed with a fine chemise. The Little Child holds a golden ball in the left hand and the right hand is raised as if to give a blessing. Filled with ineffable joy, the mariner presented the Image to General Legazpi and to the Augustinian Fathers, who, lost in amazement, fell down on their knees thanking God – their Guide and Protector.
General Legazpi entrusted the care of the Holy Image to the Augustinian Fathers. By order of the General, all officers as well as soldiers assembled in a solemn procession in which the Image was carried to an improvised chapel. In this Chapel, a historical-religious event took place – the Confraternity of the Sto. Niño de Cebu was founded by Legazpi, who became the first “Hermano Mayor” under the spiritual directorship of Father Urdaneta. As a token of love and gratitude, Legazpi made a promise to celebrate every year a festivity to commemorate the finding of the Holy Image. For this reason, the Cofradia del Santo Niño de Cebu yearly commemorates this event.
The Cebuanos respected and loved Santo Niño so much so that, when Legazpi entrusted the care of the Image to the Friars, they entreated the General to give them back the Holy Image. Legazpi, in a nice way, explained to them that he was very pleased to know about their high respect for the Image and told them that even the Spaniards themselves love and adore it as their protector and benefactor. When Legazpi questioned them as to the origin of the Image, he received an answer that the only thing they know about it was that it has been in the community for quite a time ignoring where it came from. Since the time they could remember it has been called BATHALA, because they found in it relief in their necessities and consolations in their adversities.
In the presence of all the natives, Father Urdaneta celebrated a solemn mass. When the natives saw for the first time the beautiful and enchanting ceremonies performed in honor of their BATHALA, they were so full of ineffable admiration that they lost no time in making themselves friends with the Spaniards. From that moment, a holy fraternity based upon the union of will and belief was established between two peoples. This was the beginning of the peaceful-formal evangelization of our Archipelago. It has been said that the Santo Niño is the Father of the Visayans. Before and after the arrival of Legazpi, Santo Niño had been granting them innumerable favors. They received the true religion and the gates of heaven were opened to them through the reception of the sacrament of Baptism. When Cebu was already established, General Legazpi ordered that a Church and Convent be built in the spot, where the Santo Niño was found. The Church and Convent were originally made of bamboo and nipa, and remained like that until the time when Doña Catalina Sanchez and Don Gabriel Gonzales, fervent devotees of Santo Niño, changed them into stones and tiles in the year 1601. Accordingly, the church was burned in 1628. The construction of the present Santo Niño Church started in 1735 and terminated in 1740. Father Martin de Rada, who became the Superior of the Convento del Santo Niño, taught and baptized countless Filipinos in the Santo Niño Church which became the first Parish Church of Cebu.
It is an undeniable fact that miracles have been wrought by the power of Santo Niño. Father Casimiro Diaz, in his “Historia de Filipinas”, says that to describe all these miracles, a voluminous book is needed. In the Archive of the Convento del Santo Niño de Cebu, a record is kept relating, that aside from the processions they had every year, the Holy Image had been brought about more than 50 times in 100 years, on occasions of drought, famine, fires, pestilence, and the like calamities. The inventory of the said Convent recorded in 1734 narrates that in 1618, there was a terrible drought in Cebu by which many animals died. The Holy Image was taken in a procession from the church to the Cathedral, and after the procession, a torrential rain followed. Other miraculous events recorded took place in 1634, 1651, 1670, 1673, and 1675. In 1634, the prison house was on fire, there was a great danger of a big conflagration because the next building contained several barrels of combustible powder. But, upon the arrival of the Holy Image which the people brought immediately, the fire died out. Worth special mention was in the year 1652. A terrible pestilence ravaged the whole Cebu and when the Image of Santo Niño was taken for the usual procession, the plague ceased in an instant. All these miraculous events are attested by General Juan de Atienza who had been an Alcalde and a Governor of Cebu for many years.
The Image of the Holy Child Jesus of Cebu is the first and oldest Christian relic in the island. Filipino people especially the Visayans who, not only on fiestas but on all days of the year, come to Cebu. It is a lodestar that magnetizes the hearts of the Filipinos to pay homage to Señor Santo Niño. The writer had the privilege of being the custodian of the Holy Image for 6 years and in this gap of time, he met people of all walks of life from the different nooks of the Archipelago, who came to see Señor Santo Niño either to fulfill their promises to give thanks for the extraordinary favors they received from Him or to ask special graces of consolation their adversities and continued protection in their success.