Different statues of the Sto. Niño are now on display at the Ayala Center Cebu’s chapel as part of the Sinulog Festival celebration. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
For the 16th straight year, devotees of the Sto. Niño de Cebu have come together to display their statues of the Sto. Niño at the Ayala Center Cebu Chapel as their own contribution to the myriad of events during the Sinulog Festival week.
What started as just showcasing her Sto. Niño collections as well as those of her friends, curator Lourdes Jereza decided to turn it into an annual exhibit in 2001, where different Sto. Niño statues owned by devotees from all over Cebu are displayed at the Ayala Center Cebu Chapel during the Sinulog week, which falls on every third week of January.
This year, on display are 43 Sto. Niño statues of varying sizes.
A huge image of the Sto. Niño greets people at the exhibit’s entrance. (CDN PHOTO/ JOHN CARLO VILLARUEL)
“It’s just that I’m a faithful devotee of Sto. Nino, and I find that in a mall there should be a place to worship and to give reverence to the Sto. Niño because its the fiesta of Cebu. It all started with just a (small) collection. After three years, we decided (to turn it into a) prayerful exhibit,” Jereza said.
She believed that showcasing the Sto. Niño is a way to deepen the faith of the people, particularly the younger generation who have not given much attention to the essence to the celebration of the Sinulog Festival, which is to honor and pay homage to the Child Jesus.
“I think it is deepening of faith and it can run from generation to generation because these (statues) are antique pieces handed down (by their forefathers),” she added.
Jereza said each statue holds a special meaning to the owner.
“We are just devotees. We have little miracles in life. Each piece, there has a story to tell. Example, that big Sto. Niño, (the owners) were just ordinary carvers in Mactan; now they’re beginning to have a better life. So (their) prayers, petitions and devotions have given them a better life,” Jereza shared.
Jereza hoped to keep the exhibit going year after year and for young people to retell the stories of miracles experienced by the Sto. Niño devotees.
The theme of this year’s exhibit is the “Communion of Communities,” Jereza said.