Lola Sergia Carmelotes waits for her turn to enter the National Shrine of St. Joseph for a chance to touch the Sto. Niño de Cebu on January 17, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Rosalie Abatayo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Braving the long queue leading to the images of Señor Santo de Cebu and the Our Lady of Guadalupe is part of a sacrifice.
This is what Sergia Carmelotes, 71, said as she waited in line for a chance to get closer to the image of Sto Niño de Cebu which arrived here from the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño together with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, January 17, 2020.
Carmelotes traveled from her home in Consolacion town, northern Cebu, to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Barangay Centro, Mandaue City with her 5-year-old granddaughter to take the chance of approaching the image of the Holy Child.
“Sukad sa bata pa mi, mao man gyud na ang debosyon sa akong mama ug mao poy nasunod namo,” Carmelotes told CDN Digital.
(Since we were little children, my mother had always been a devotee of Señor Santo Niño. This is the faith that we have grown up with.)
“Padayon lang gyud ta kay manganhi man gani nang mga dili taga dinhi, unsa pa kaha ta nga naa ra ta diri sa Cebu. Saulogon gyud nato kay iyaha man ning kapistahan,” Carmelotes added.
(We should just continue doing this because people from other places even come so there’s no reason for us from Cebu not to come. We should celebrate because this is His feast.)
The images of the Holy Child and the Virgin Mother arrived at the National Shrine of Saint Joseph around 8:45 a.m.
The images were carried in a Traslacion from the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño until here in Mandaue City via the boundary of the two cities in Barangay Banilad.
Veneration of the images will continue until their send off to Lapu-Lapu City at midnight.
As of 11 a.m., the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) here said at least 3,000 devotees welcomed the Holy Child. Most were attending the Welcome Mass for the images officiated by Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Midyphil Billones.
MCPO Information Office Police Major Mercy Villaro earlier urged devotees to have patience and submit themselves to all safety inspection to maintain the order of the veneration of the images.
The MCPO has implemented also implemented a no-backpack policy inside the Church as part of their security measures.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, in a separate interview, said he hopes the visit of the image will bring peace in the city and the entire Cebu province.
“Atong i-padayon nga hugtan ang atong pagtuo ug di ta magpadala sa mga pagsuway…(Let’s continue strengthening our faith and remain steadfast in times of trials.) God does not create locks without keys nor does he create problems without solutions,” Cortes said. /bmjo