Devotees hold up their Sto. Niño statues during the opening salvo of the 458th Fiesta Señor in Cebu City on Thursday, January 5, 2023 at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño. | Morexette Marie Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines — As the nine-day novena for the 458th Fiesta Señor officially starts on Thursday, January 5, 2023, Augustinian priests urged devotees to follow safety and security protocols when in Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
Priests from the Basilica said they were expecting a double to triple increase in the number of the Basilica’s daily visitors during the whole Fiesta Señor celebration, making safety and security measures all the more crucial.
This year marks the comeback of in-person Fiesta Señor after a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus.
Rev. Fr. John Ion Miranda OSA, Fiesta Señor 2023 head secretariat and chairperson of the health, safety, and security committee, said about 300,000 pilgrims and devotees would visit the Basilica daily starting Thursday until the Feast Day of Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu on Jan. 15.
The Basilica, he said, could accommodate a maximum of 5,000 people at once, but with 10 novena Masses scheduled each day, at least 50,000 pilgrims and devotees would be anticipated to attend the daily Masses.
“While ongoing ang masses, ato mang giseparate ang dagkutanan and veneration of the original image of Sto. Niño. Dinhi ta muagi sa D. Jakosalem entrance for access to the original image and to dagkutanan,” he said.
(While the Masses are ongoing, we separated the area where you light candles and veneration of the original image of the Sto. Niño. We will pass by the D. Jakosalem entrance for access to the original image and to the area where we light candles.)
“Mas daghan man ang managkot ug sa muduaw. So, ang atong estimate every hour ang mulabay is 3,000 every hour ang movenerate and mudagkot. So, we expect nga 300,000 daily ang total from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. (daily),” he added.
(The people, who would light candles and would visit are many. So, our estimate for every hour that passes by is 3,000 every hour for those who would venerate and would light candles. So, we expect the total number of people at 300,000 daily from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
Fiesta Señor crowds’ reminders
With the expected crowd, Miranda said wearing of face masks when in Basilica was highly recommended.
He, however, emphasized that wearing of backpacks was highly discouraged to ensure smooth and fast screening process at the Basilica’s entry points.
“Then, alert ta sa atong pagsulod diri sa Basilica. Atong huna-hunaon pirmi ang hapsay. Dili ta managan. Dili ta magdali pirmi kay the Basilica is open for all,” he said.
(Then, we should be always alert when entering here in the Basilica. We should think about it being always orderly. We will not run. We will not be in a hurry to enter because the Basilica is open for all.)
Miranda assured that there would be enough first aid responders assigned in various stations inside the Basilica, and these would be manned by volunteers from different sectors, including volunteer nursing students.
He said medical tents outside the Basilica that would be manned by personnel from the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office would also be on standby in case there would be cases needing a first aid response.
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