For commemoration of first mass in Philippines: Sto. Niño de Cebu in Limasawa

CEBU, Philippines — The pilgrim image of the Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu will be in Limasawa Island in southern Leyte this weekend for the 498th anniversary of the first Mass ever held in the country.

Fr. Ric Anthony Reyes of the Augustinian community in Cebu said that the commemoration of the country’s first recorded Mass is important to the Church history here because remembering the past helps Catholics root themselves to the rich heritage of the people’s faith

“At this point of time that we search for meaning in the midst of many unchristian incidents, we have to stand firm for our faith, affirm in witnessing Christian life. Ang pagbalik handuraw sa mga karaang panahon sama niini naghatag nato kadasig sa pagpadayon isip mga Kristohanon,” he told The FREEMAN in a message.

The image is scheduled for a two-day pilgrimage (March 30 and 31) to be led by Fr. Pacifico Nohara Jr., the rector of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. The first stop is Hilongos town.

At 9:20 a.m. on Saturday, the pilgrim image of Señor Sto. Niño docked at the port of Hilongos carried by the Philippine Navy ship Salvador Abcede.

It stopped at the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Hilongos where it was warmly welcomed and received by parishioners and their parish priest, Fr. Eric Intona.

At 11:30 a.m., the pilgrimage made a short visit to the Diocesan Shrine of Agnus Dei in Hilongos. No less than Archbishop Gabriel Giordano Caccia, the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, led the concelebrated Mass there and the blessing of the new convent of the diocesan shrine.

Caccia is expected to be the main presider of the commemoration of the first Easter Mass in the country in Limasawa Island today.

The image arrived at the island at about 5 p.m. on Saturday after leaving Hilongos past 2 p.m.

Significantly, this year is the 498th anniversary of the holding of the first Easter mass in the country. Two years from now the Philippine Catholic Church will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the country.

Reyes said the Sto. Niño de Cebu, the highly-revered and oldest religious relic in the country, is tied to the history of the arrival of Christianity in the country and that is why it has been sent there since 2010 for the annual commemoration.

He said the annual participation of the image in the commemoration helps the faithful understand of the significant role of the image in the propagation of the Christian faith.

“The Sto. Niño has been the symbol of the seed of faith gifted and planted to our soil... The visit of the Sto. Niño may help and assist Catholics to dispose ourselves of Divine presence which is more powerful than any other earthly power,” he said. —/BRP (FREEMAN)