Filipinos are well-known for their devotion to the Sto. Niño. For this, the Holy See has granted the Philippines special permission to celebrate the Feast of the Sto. Niño every third Sunday of January, after the celebration of Christmas season. The feast of the Sto. Niño is the oldest and one of the most popular in the Philippines.
The fiesta in Tondo has the biggest participation in the capital city of the Philippines, not only because it is the most populous district in the city and poorest but perhaps because of the many anecdotes connected with the Holy Child, the Sto. Niño of Tondo. The image of the Holy Child of Tondo is one of the most celebrated images of the Child Jesus and considered the second oldest venerated image of the Child Jesus in the Philippines, next to the Sto. Niño de Cebu. The church where it is enthroned is one of the most visited in the country, considering the populace of Tondo aside from pilgrims from other parts of Manila and around the country.
Prior to its feast day, Novena Masses were held in honor of the Sto. Niño. On the third day of its novena, Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle presided over the Eucharistic celebration with the clergy of Tondo. During the Mass, the cardinal announced the Solemn Declaration of the Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño de Tondo, truly a great blessing to the lives of the faithful in Tondo.
The Fiesta 2019 theme is “Kabataan ni Kristo: Malakas, Marunong at Banal,” which is derived from the Gospel of Luke 2:40, in line with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Year of the Youth, as we anticipate the 500th anniversary of the first baptism in the Philippines in 2021.
Yesterday, January 19, Bisperas ng Kapistahan, the Annual Lakbayaw Festival was held, a street dancing festivity in honor of the Holy Child Jesus of Tondo. It was adopted as a counterpart to the fluvial procession which was changed during the term of Bishop Amado Paulino, then parish priest of Sto. Niño de Tondo. On January 19, the hourly masses began from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. on January 20. Today, on its feast day, the solemn procession of the original image of the Child Jesus is scheduled at 4 a.m. in the morning within the parish areas.
Sto. Niño is an icon not only of Tondo but also of the whole country. May we remain faithful to him, as we place the world in the palm of his hands. Viva Señor Sto. Niño!