Historical marker for Basilica del Sto. Niño unveiled

Rene Escalante, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairman,(second from left)and representatives from the Order of Saint Augustine sign documents for the Basilica del Sto. Nino’s historical marker. CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

THE Order of Saint Augustine, the order of the priests’ running the Basilica del Sto. Nino, is celebrating another milestone of the Basilica.

This developed after the Basilica received a National Historical Marker from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) which was unveiled on Wednesday.

Rene Escalante, NHCP chairmman, said that the Basilica received the marker for three reasons: architecture, education and devotion.

According to Escalante, the Augustinians have built four Baroque churches that were recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as world heritage sites, and their works should be awarded.

These churches are the Paoay Church, the San Agustin Church, the Miagao Church and the Santa Maria Church.

He said that until this time this churches remain sturdy, beautiful and had been used by people from all walks of life.

As for the devotion, Escalante said that the Sinulog Festival has been a big contributor to tourism in Cebu, as it brings in millions of devotees every year.

“Hindi lamang devotion ng mga tao dito sa Cebu City, pero devotion ito sa buong bansa,” said Escalante.

The Basilica’s Rector Fr. Pacifico Nahora, OSA, said that the marker is a way of saying thank you to the priests in the order for preaching the good news of the word. /