Around 45 images of the Santo Niño (Child Jesus) are featured in an exhibit by a group of devotees in Ali Mall in Cubao, Quezon City Jan. 8-14.
Mr. Jefferson Fernando, organizer of the exhibit, told the Manila Bulletin that the activity is in line with the Feast of Santo Niño this month.
Fernando said they are holding the “Ang Batang Hesus” exhibit in the mall to keep the tradition alive as the Feast of Santo Nino is one of the most celebrated feast in the country.
The exhibit also aims to bring the holy images closer to the people since the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Among the images featured in the exhibit are the “Festejadas” or the six oldest and most popular images of baby Jesus -- the Santo Niño De Cebu, Santo Niño De Tondo (Manila), Santo Niño De Pandacan (Manila), Santo Niño De Tacloban, Santo Niño de Malitbog (Southern Leyte), and Santo Niño de Arevalo (Iloilo),
The images displayed in the exhibit are owned by different families from Metro Manila and other nearby provinces such as Bulacan and Quezon, Fernando said.
The oldest image of the Child Jesus (Santo Niño de Cebu) was brought to the Philippines by Spanish explorers as a baptismal gift to the Filipinos in Cebu in the 1521.
Residents of Cebu honor the Holy Infant Jesus through the “Sinulog” festival held every January where various religious and cultural activities are held.