Sancta Porta ceiling paiting of
Sto Niño Parish Tacloban
Sto. Niño de Tacloban 1889
December 16, 2013 · Toronto, Canada ·
REMEMBER Leyteños the 1889 miracle of the Sto Niño de Tacloban...... "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22
The Santo Nino de Leyte has been the object of devotion and worship by Leytenos since the first Missionaries in the island introduced the Image. Over the years, the residents of Tacloban were drawn together by their mutual affection for the Child Jesus.
The "Hermanidad han Santo Nino" was later created and the feast day of the Holy Child was celebrated every third Sunday of January. However, a series of dramatic and miraculous events unfolded and forever changed and shaped the destiny of the Leytenos and their patron saint, Senor Santo Nino.
In 1888, the original image of the Child Jesus, known as the "El Capitan", was brought to Manila for a facelift and a change of its vestments in preparation for its forthcoming feast day. On its return trip to Tacloban on-board the steamship "Luzon", the image was packed in a crate together with some heavy bronze "Candelabras".
The Santo Nino, however, did not reach its destination as the ship caught fire off the coast of the Mindoro and Romblon provinces. In the midst of the confusion, the crate containing the image of the Sto. Nino was thrown overboard and, for some time was believed to be lost at sea.
A year after the incident, the devotees and residents of Tacloban were at the brink of giving up all hope of ever seeing their beloved Sto. Nino again. The feast day of the Holy Child came and went without a celebration. Adding to this despair was a cholera epidemic that engulfed Tacloban. The deadly plague claimed many lives and, almost every night, its victims were loaded into a "aromata" or two-wheeled carriage drawn by carabao, to be buried in common graves.
At the height of the epidemic, the Leyte Governor received a letter from Jose Gil de Avalle, Military Governor of Mindoro, stating that a crate labeled "Santo Nino Han Tacloban" was spotted at sea by one of his Barrio Lieutenants. The crate was seen afloat with a boy standing on its top and, to the disbelief of the natives of Mindoro, it remained afloat despite its heavy load of bronze Candelabras.
The Hermanidad promptly organized and dispatched a team of nine volunteers to retrieve the image. News of the recovery and the image's expected arrival spread like wild fire. Devotees and residents, including those struck with the plague - in canes, crutches, stretchers and hammocks - all trooped to the waterfront to welcome home their beloved Sto. Nino.
The boat "Consuelo" bearing the Sto. Nino was met with much rejoicing as it docked at about three in the afternoon, June 30, 1889. History reveals that on this day, the cholera epidemic disappeared. Since then, the 30th of June became the feast day of the Senor Santo Nino de Leyte. It is always a day of thanksgiving, prayer, rejoicing and celebration.
Sto Niño de Tacloban, pray for the survivors & the deceased victims of Typhoon Yolanda!
By
Gilda Giron
Photo: jakku
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