Cebuanos told to keep the celebration solemn

Several other vessels tailed the galleon which carried the images of the Sto. Niño and the Our Lady of Guadalupe in this January 2017 file photo.
/CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON

Fiesta Señor 2018

Deepen your spirituality.

This was the challenge of the Augustinian fathers of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in Cebu City to devotees who are planning to join the different activities of the 453rd Fiesta Señor that will already start on Thursday, January 11.

In a press conference on Monday, Fr. Noel Cogasa, OSA, who is in charge of the liturgical celebrations at the basilica, said it is pointless to be joining the fluvial and foot processions as well as other religious activities if the intention is just to chitchat with other people or to merely go sightseeing.

“What is then the meaning of what we are doing if we just join the activities and do not pray? The Fiesta Señor is not about taking a breather from our usual routine or to have a family reunion. The essence of the celebration is prayer, and so we must not neglect the religious aspect,” he said.

The Fiesta Señor 2018 celebration officially starts with the annual “Walk with Jesus”, a penitential foot procession from Fuente Osmeña to the basilica at 4 a.m. on Thursday.

This year’s celebration carries the theme “Sto. Niño: Inspiration of Renewed Disciples for the New Evangelization” that is patterned to the pastoral thrust of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons.

Fr. Pacifico “Jun” Nohara Jr., OSA, rector of the basilica, appealed to the devotees to always follow organizers instructions and signages installed in strategic locations to keep the celebration solemn.

“Please obey the entrance and exit signs and avoid bringing jewelry and other expensive items (which may entice thieves),” he said.

Signages, communion kiosks, large LED screens and several television monitors were already mounted inside the basilica complex and the adjoining streets for people who may not be able to enter the churchyard.

At least a million devotees are expected to troop to the basilica in downtown Cebu City and participate in the different activities in honor of the Sto. Niño.

Except on January 11 and 19 when there are dawn processions, 11 Masses will be held at the outdoor Pilgrim Center every day leading to the feast of the Sto. Niño.

The basilica complex will be open to the public for 24 hours from January 11 to 21 although the church is off limits to people every 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. to allow the janitors to clean the basilica.

Fr. Aladdin Luzon, OSA, head of the Fiesta Señor 2018 peace and order committee, said they will also strictly enforce a total ban on balloons at the church’s courtyard.

Devotees are also discouraged from using balloons during the fluvial and foot processions scheduled on January 20.

For several years, the release of balloons in the air during the feast of the Sto. Niño has been a popular gesture of lifting prayers to heaven.

The Augustinian fathers, the caretakers of the basilica and the image of the child Jesus, want the practice to stop, teaching devotees the proper way of expressing their faith.

For the first time in history, the images of the Sto. Niño and the Our Lady of Guadalupe will drop by the Nuestra Señora de Regla National Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City shortly before the start of the fluvial procession on January 20.

The Augustinian fathers have decided to extend the annual traslacion from Mandaue City to the adjacent island of Mactan, particularly in Lapu-Lapu City, in response to numerous requests from Oponganons who also wanted to be visited by the two miraculous images during the festivities.