Grandma thanks Sto. Niño for grandson’s return
Jonathan Celadania and wife Jayvee happily reunite with their newborn baby Prince Nino and son Jaythaniel in their house in barangay Tungkop, Minglanilla with their mother Patricia Celadania (right) after they recovered baby Nino from kidnapper Melissa Alilin Londres. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Patricia Celadania has been traveling for a total of 28 km daily since January 7 just to attend the novena Masses every afternoon at the Basilica del Santo Niño.
Patricia, 54, didn’t mind the long trip from her house in Minglanilla town, southern Cebu, to the basilica in downtown Cebu City.
“Completing the nine-day novena Masses is my way of thanking the Sto. Niño for the safe return of my grandson,” she said.
Patricia’s grandson, Prince Niño, was stolen by a love-lorn woman who needed an infant to present to her boyfriend as their son after she pretended to be pregnant just to keep him from leaving her.
Clad in a white scrubs suit, Melissa Londres, 26, walked out of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) on January 4, bringing with her Prince Niño.
A devotee of the Holy Child Jesus since she was a little girl, Patricia fell on her knees in front of their small altar in their house in barangay Tungkop, Minglanilla town, and prayed to the Sto. Niño the minute after her son, Jonathan, informed her that his son had been stolen.
“I begged the Sto. Niño to please return the baby to us,” she said.
Patricia’s small altar is inside her room. An image of the Holy Child Jesus, about a foot tall, stands beside a crucifix.
She recalled praying nonstop to the Sto. Niño, seeking His help in finding her grandson.
In less than two days, her prayer was answered.
The police collared Londres, a call center agent, in the evening of January 5 at their boarding house in barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
Prince Niño was rescued and returned to his parents Jonathan and Jayvee.
The arrest stemmed from a tip of a neighbor who noticed the resemblance of Londres to the woman caught on the footage of the closed-circuit television cameras inside VSMMC carrying the baby out of the hospital.
The neighbor also became suspicious because they didn’t see Londres getting pregnant yet she claimed to have given birth to a baby boy.
Patricia was grateful to the Sto. Niño for granting her plea.
“I am thankful that He heard my prayer,” she aid.
To show her gratitude to the Sto. Niño, she had been joining the afternoon novena Masses leading to the feast of the Holy Child Jesus on Sunday.
She also planned to attend the solemn procession on Saturday as a form of thanksgiving.
Jonathan was also grateful to the Sto. Niño for the safe return of his son.
Last January 6, a day after they got their son back, Jonathan went to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño and offered a thanksgiving Mass.
Jonathan said they named their second child after the Sto. Niño as suggested by his aunt, Simplicia Abellana, especially that there were complications when Jayvee delivered their son on January 2.
“The Sto. Niño is the Holy Child with whom we can take refuge in times of despair,” he said.
Jayvee promised to bring Prince Niño and his two-year-old brother, Jaythaniel to the basilica after the Sinulog festivities.
“We will offer a prayer-dance to the Sto. Niño and kiss His image to thank Him for bringing Prince Niño back to us,” she said.
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