Sto. Niño devotees called to spiritual renewal as Pilgrim City celebrates Fiesta Señor

By Natalie Hazel Quimlat

“When we see the image of the Sto. Nino, it is an invitation to change our quick-fix mentality. To change from within, without any shortcuts.” 

This was the message of Fr. Francis Tordilla, Rector of the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary, as he delivered his homily on the feast of Sto. Niño, January 18, at the Balatas Development Complex, where hundreds of devotees gathered for a eucharistic celebration after the procession and street dance. 

Tordilla, who lamented the ‘pwede na iyan’ attitude of Filipinos, spoke largely about the iconography of the globe held by the Child Jesus in His hand. “Today’s feast reminds us that the Child Jesus is the global standard for one’s work, attitude and relationship with God.”

He emphasized that God became man to show His love and mercy for His people. “He was not contented with band-aid solutions.”

The Child Jesus also teaches us three things, he said, how to pray, how to obey the will of the Father and how to show compassion to the marginalized sectors of our society, in whom one could possibly encounter God. 

The devotion to the Sto. Niño began in the Archdiocese in 1979, after a group of Cebuano devotees visited Naga City with the image of the Child Jesus and was hosted by Fr. Alfonso Grageda, then Parish Priest of the Immaculate Conception Parish (ICP). Seeing the impact and spiritual growth that the said visit provided to the local parishioners, Grageda, with the support of then Archbishop Teopisto Alberto, paved the way to make ICP as the seat of one of the most popular devotions in the Philippines in Caceres. 

Currently, the annual celebration is organized by the Immaculate Conception Parish, in partnership with the local government of Naga. Also present during the celebration were Parish Priest Fr. Emmanuel Marc Real, Parochial Vicar Fr. Roy Gueriña, Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo, and Vice-Mayor Gabriel Bordado, Jr.