A Sto. Nino Story

Hers is a story of immeasurable devotion, strong faith and endless passion. Perhaps, even before she was born, she was already destined to be in God’s the fold, as an antique collector, particularly that of religious icons.

Even her name, Jesusa (“Josie” Sanchez Pereyra), has a connection with the Black Nazarene. Josie shares that her mother was a devotee of the Nazarene and, at the time she was conceived, her mother used to frequent Quiapo Church every Friday. Josie was also born on January 9, the feast day of the Black Nazarene.

Now, Josie, who owns JSP Ads & Promo, continues to live up to her religious connection, practically transforming her home to an “adoption center” for various religious icons which have been abandoned by their owners who have switched to another religion. After 30 years of buying and welcoming religious icons to her house, she has already acquired almost a hundred items, around 25 of which are images of the Sto. Nino.

The first Sto. Nino image that Josie owned was a small one, an image she bought for herself as a gift when, as a sales representative for a swimming pool company in 1979, she successfully closed a huge account. Pereyra considers this icon her “lucky charm” because ever since she got it, blessings never stopped pouring specially on her ads and promo business.

But when her dad was hospitalized in 1984, she was devastated because the image, which she placed in her father’s hospital room, was thrown away by her sister who just came home from Europe and who had switched to another religion.

“Nakit-an sa akong sister gilabay niya sa luyo sa balay sa akong mom sa Escario kay dili mana sila mutuo og ingon ana kay dapat direct gyud kuno atong prayer to God. Sus, ako gyud nang gipakuha sa among driver kay lawom man ang gilabayan, perti nakong guola gihilakan gyud nako og maayo kay giampoan gud na nako og pila ka buwan para lang gyud makapalit unya gilabay ra, naputol ang tiil,” Josie shared. It took her years to have the image restored together with her second Sto. Nino, which she got from a friend in Bacolod City.

  Since 1979, she has been gifted with religious items by her friends. Antique suppliers also kept on bringing to her house abandoned icons and she could never turn these away. “Basta muabot na ang Sto. Nino sa imong balay dili man gyud ka makabalibad, ma-inlove man gyud ka. I rely on my vibration, and basta santos gaan man gyud akong paminaw pirme,” she revealed.

To date, Pereyra’s oldest Sto. Nino image, which she acquired from Elizabeth, an antique shop in Bacolod City, is estimated to be 120 years old. It is made of wood and bare. She fell in love with the icon when she saw a picture of it in a book by Dra. Lydia Aznar- Alfonzo.  

Pereyra shared that she talks to the icons every now and then about her problems and her burdens. Aside from the one she considers her “lucky charm,” she also usually talks to the biggest image of the Sto. Nino in the house, which she acquired three years ago. Interestingly, she was not supposed to buy it because when it was first brought to her house by an antique supplier, she believed it was very expensive. But the supplier came back the next day and insisted that she should accept it if she did not want to have bad karma.

“Wala ko mupalit dayon kay pag-abot ana wala nay buhok, wala nay sinena, walay globe, walay scepter. But another antique supplier said siya lang daw bahala mangita sa kuwang, so I agreed. Pero usa gyud na ka tuig kapin nga bare, nya murag mug-ot kayo siya og nawong. After na-sinenaan and all, mura na siya’g nag-katawa,” Josie shared. The blessings started pouring in the moment she gave shelter to the image. Josie said she was able to close the biggest account under her agency after “adopting” the image.

 Pereyra believes that her act of collecting antique religious images is the reason for the miracles that her husband Pete has been blessed with. Pete has been bedridden for 14 years already due to an asthma attack which left him comatose for three months after he lost oxygen while being transported from the hospital door to the emergency room. Pete, she said, is very devoted to the Sto. Nino and used to hear Novena Masses at the basilica every Friday before his ailment struck.

Annual Tradition

 From the time she only had three Sto. Nino images under her care up to now that she already has almost a hundred, Pereyra keeps her yearly promise of bringing the miraculous images to the basilica a day before the Fiesta Senyor. There, she would pay sinug dancers to carry the images while dancing. Once, she forgot about her promise because of her hectic schedule. By the time she came back from a business trip in Manila, two images just vanished.

“Ako naman to silang gilinya daan pangandam kay akong giistoryahan nga manayaw mi sa Sto. Nino, unya na-busy man ko. When I came back from Manila, nawala ang duha, murag milayas ba wa na gyud nako makit-i. I took it as a message nga I should have kept my word, mao nang dad-on gyud na nako sila para ipasayaw kada bisperas bahalag daghan kaayong tawo, ug bahalag nganha ra mi sa gawas. Mag-set aside gyud ko og money for that,” she shared.

Pereyra also promised she will not stop buying Sto. Nino icons that will come her way because she feels great doing so. She said it’s not about receiving blessings but it’s because she feels life is light and worry- free in the company of these religious icons.

  “If I have problems, dili ra kaayo ko mag-problema kay naa bitaw na Siya (Sto. Nino). Dependent kaayo ko Niya, I’m at peace with him,” she said.

Josie said she has no intention of giving away some of the images she owns because she cannot bear the thought of letting them go. “When you collect you can’t let go, there is an attachment. They are like your babies, murag tawo ba,” she concluded.