CEBU, Philippines - The pilgrim image of the Santo Niño will make a historic voyage to Limasawa Island in Southern Leyte this March 30 and 31 in time for the 491st anniversary of the first Mass held in the Philippines.
The pilgrim image will leave the Basilica del Santo Niño in the afternoon of March 29 and will be taken on board a Philippine Navy ship heading to Maasin City. There it will stay for a day before heading to Limasawa via fluvial parade. The parade will be managed by the Philippine Coast Guard and the PCG Auxiliary.
Fr. Tito Soquiño, president of the Santo Niño de Cebu Augustinian Social Development Foundation, Inc. (SNAF), said that in Limasawa the image will be welcomed by officials of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Philippine Independent Catholic Church in “a display of Catholic unity of faith.”
The United Christian Churches of the Philippines has also expressed intention to join in the historical celebration, he said.
There will be a procession from the Port of Triana in Limasawa to the Magellan’s Cross where the celebration will be capped by a Mass and a reenactment of the first arrival of the Santo Niño.
Gun salutes will be offered by the Navy.
This voyage, called the “Duaw Santo Niño”, is the fourth such visit outside Cebu. The other visits were in Bien Unido in Bohol, Olango Island in Lapu-Lapu City and Biliran.
Soquiño said the event was organized by SNAF, the social arm of the Augustinians, as a way of bringing the holy image closer to the devotees and to spread the message of ecological evangelization. (FREEMAN)