Basilica assures Fiesta Señor 2021 will push through

In this January 2019 photo, Santo Niño devotees raise their replicas of the image of the Child Jesus during a Mass that opened the nine-day Novena Masses in celebration of the Fiesta Señor at the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Augustinian friars, who are among the lead organizers for the annual Fiesta Señor celebration, assured the public that the much-awaited event will push through in 2021.

This was announced last Saturday, September 26, 2020 in an online briefing for the 500 Years of Christianity Celebration of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Fr. Ric Anthony Reyes of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) said they are now ‘working closely’ with the Cebu City Government for the Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Festival next year.

Reyes said all their preparations presently remained as plans as nothing has been declared or deemed as official yet.

“We’re still finalizing everything so we cannot say if some of these are official. But definitely, it (Fiesta Señor) will push through,” said Reyes in Cebuano.

OSA priests are currently managing and running the centuries-old Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu situated in downtown Cebu City. It houses the original image of the Holy Child Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan has bestowed as a gift to Queen Juana.

Among the things the Basilica is discussing for next year’s celebrations, Reyes said, were modifications in Fiesta Señor-related events to ensure that minimum health standards and quarantine restrictions will be observed.

“One thing certain is that we will be having equivalent celebrations on what we usually do. This means that our devotees can expect several adjustments made for next year,” explained Reyes.

“We have to consider that the risk (of getting the coronavirus disease 2019) is still there and that health protocols should not be sacrificed during the celebrations,” he added.

The City Government earlier announced that the Sinulog Festival, one of the country’s largest and grandest festivals, will proceed next year if things will normalize.

READ MORE: Sinulog 2021 to push through if…

Mayor Edgardo Labella said the celebration should push through in line with the quincentenary celebrations of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, Victory in Mactan, and circumnavigation of the globe, most of which will be held here in Cebu.

/bmjo