Sto. Niño now dressed in his festival clothes

The original image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu dons his full regalia and new set of vestments intricately embroidered by seamstresses of the Asilo de la Milagrosa. The ritual ‘ilis’ was held at the Friar’s Oratory of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño yesterday when it was taken out of its glass case inside the basilica. The centuries-old image given as baptismal gift by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Cebu’s Queen Juana in 1521 (left) was later taken back to the side chapel inside the basilica for public veneration (CDN PHOTO AND CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/EMMANUEL ROSAL NADELA)