Prayers, thanksgiving pour with the rains during Walk with Jesus procession

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Not even the rain could dim the sea of light that flowed through Osmeña Boulevard as thousands of devotees joined the Walk with Jesus, the penitential foot procession for Señor Santo Niño, at dawn on Thursday, January 9, 2020.

The dawn procession, from the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu, preceded the opening salvo Mass for the nine-day novena leading to the 455th Fiesta Señor  that will be celebrated on January 19, the third Sunday of January.

Aida Manatad, 53, carries an image of Señor Santo Niño as she joins the Walk with Jesus penitential foot procession on Thursday dawn, January 9, 2020. |CDND Photo/Rosalie Abatayo

Aida Manatad, a fruit vendor from Basak, Mandaue City, said she had so much to thank the Santo Niño for the past year that she could not just miss to offer her time for the procession.

Carrying her two-feet tall image of Señor Santo Niño, Manatad braved the 2-kilometer procession route from Fuente Osmeña Circle to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. The penitential walk, which started at 4 a.m. led to the Opening Salvo Mass at 5:30 a.m. at the Basilica.

“Sakripisyo pod ni ug pasalamat sa Señor Santo Niño kay nakapasar akong anak sa board bag-o lang,” Manatad told CDN Digital.

(This sacrifice is my way of thanking Señor Santo Niño because my daughter passed the board exam recently.)

Jessa, Manatad’s 22-year-old daughter, passed the licensure examination for teachers last December 2019.

Manatad, who sells fruit along P. Lopez Street in Cebu City, said she is also thankful that she did not lose her livelihood despite the road clearing operations in Cebu City unlike most of the vendors on Colon Street.

Manatad said her fruit cart is their family’s only source of income to get by every day.

As she walked along the procession, Manatad said she also prays for healing for her husband who is now recovering from a respiratory and cardiovascular complications.

The carriage carrying image of the Señor Santo Niño during the 2-kilometer Walk with Jesus procession that precedes the opening Mass at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu at dawn on Jan. 9, 2020, the first of the nine-day novena to celebrate the 455th Fiesta Señor of the Feast of the Child Jesus to be celebrated on Jan. 19, 2020. |CDND Photo/Gerard Vincent Francisco

Like Manatad, thousands of other devotees also flock the Basilica and the procession route as early as 2 a.m. to show their devotion to the Holy Child.

Fr. Pacifico Nohara, the Basilica’s rector, thanked the devotees for braving their way into the opening of the celebrations of the Fiesta Señor.

“Usahay, sulayan ra gyud ta apan ang atong pagtuo maoy labaw nga makahatag og kaayoha. Kanato,” Nohara said.

Nohara also urged the devotees to include in their prayers even those who did not make it to the procession and the opening Mass.

Thousands brave the rain to attend the opening Mass for the Fiesta Señor 2020 celebration held at the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu on Jan. 9, 2020. |CDND Photo/Morexette Marie Erram

“Kadtong mga deboto ni Señor Santo Niño nga wala makatambong karon, ato gyud nga intensyon nga iapil sila sa atong panalangin sa atong pagsakripisyo karon,” Nohara said.

“Manghinaot kitang tanan nga magmalampuson kini ug magpadayon ang atong pagpadayag sa atong pagtuo ug panginahanglan kaniya kay wa gyud kitay mahimo kung wala siya,” Nohara said.

(Let us hope that our celebration of the Fiesta Señor will be a success and that we continue to profess our faith and prayers to Him because there is nothing that we can do without Him.)/elb