Sinulog in Davao: Sto. Niño de Cebu visits Davao Churches

Photo by Brenda P. Milan

Davaoeños get to see and feel Cebu’s Sinulog as the image of Sto. Niño de Cebu made a visit in the Archdiocese of Davao recently.

During the Mass at St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao, July 7, the crowd of mass-goers and devotees sang to the tune of songs for the Holy Child and danced in the tune of Pit Senyor, asking Him to grant their prayers and petitions.

The Sto. Niño de Cebu image arrived in Davao last July 4 and had a brief stay at the San Pedro Cathedral before it was transferred to Digos and then in Malita, Davao Occidental.

It returned to Davao on July 6, and made a brief stay at the Holy Spirit Adoration Convent Chapel before heading to REMASE where it stayed until the 5:00 AM send-off Mass on July 7, before going back to Cebu.

“Usa ka dakong kalipay ang aton gibati karong hapona tungod mibisita kanato ang atong Ginoong Hesukristo! Ang Sto. Niño nagpresenta kato sa tinuod nga presensya ni Hesus nga Ginoo apan nagpakatawo uban kanato,” said Fr. Loloy Mahinay during the liturgical reception of the image of the Child Jesus.

He added, “Ang imahe sa Sto. Niño mao ang pinakauna nga imahe nga atong nadawat gikan sa misyonero nga nagdala sa pagtoo dinhi sa atong nasud. Hangtod karon kitang mga Pilipinong magtotoo padayon nga nagpadayag niining dakong debosyon sa Sto. Niño.”

“Hinaot nga kining atong taas nga pagpadayag sa atong debosyon magdala kanato sa tinuod nga transpormasyon sa kinabuhing kristohanon ug tungod niini kitang tanan madala ngadto sa paghimo sa misyon sa Simbahan,” said Fr. Mahinay.

The rector of REMASE Fr. Reynaldo Retardo and some of the priest concelebrants danced while holding the image of the Child Jesus after the final blessing reminiscent of the Sinulog in Cebu.

Devotees from different parts of the city took turns venerating the image of the Child Jesus after the mass. Some took time to offer their prayers while touching the image.

“Even when you can’t go to Cebu, you can still experience Sinulog,” said one of the priests to the mass-goers before the start of the Mass.

Sinulog is an annual celebration every January wherein devotees go to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu to pray and have the chance to touch the image of Jesus.

The devotion to the Sto. Niño is popular in Davao City that almost every home has an altar with the image of the Child Jesus as a prominent feature.