BEST SELLER. Marcelino Concepcion, 60, shows a sample of the Sto. Niño image she sent to stores in Manila for the papal visit. (CDN PHOTO/ADOR VINCENT S. MAYOL)
A store selling religious images in downtown Cebu City has been receiving orders from a number of stores in Manila for icons of the Sto. Niño de Cebu.
The orders were made in time for Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 18.
“There were demands for images of the Sto. Niño de Cebu that they will sell for the papal visit next week,” store owner Marcelina Concepcion told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has urged people attending the papal Mass in Luneta to bring their images of the Child Jesus to the open air Mass in Manila since the day is the religious feast of the Sto. Niño in the calendar of the Philippine church.
Last week, Concepcion delivered several images of the Sto. Niño de Cebu to three stores in a strip along Tayuman St. in Sta. Cruz, Manila famous for religious images and accessories.
“They prefer to have images of the Sto. Niño made in Cebu because the base we’re using here are unique,” Concepcion said.
She delivered at least 80 images of the Sto. Niño de Cebu with sizes ranging from three to 13 inches.
The cost of the icons ranged from P100 to P1,800.
“I don’t know how much would they sell those images in Manila,” said Conception who sells religious images two blocks away from the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
The mother of eight also accepts repair work and makeover of Sto. Niño images for the Fiesta Señor.
Their services include repainting, applying varnish, restoring broken parts and dressing up the image of the Child Jesus.
A repair job can costs P200 to P1,000 depending on the extent of work needed and the size of the image.
They also sell new Sto. Niño images and other religious icons such as the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, among many others.
Devotee
Spouses Noel and Corazon Tampus were among those who brought their image of the Sto. Niño to be refurbished.
Their image has a crown made of pure gold and diamonds.
“Every year, I really sew the vestments for our Sto. Niño. Our family is grateful to the Sto. Niño because not a single request we made was left unanswered,” Corazon said.
In gratitude to all the graces they received from the Lord, she said they even named one of their sons as well as their travel agency after Sto. Niño.
“Sometimes, there are trials. But we overcome them through the help of the Sto. Niño,” said Noel who had kidney problems in the past years.
The devotion to the Sto. Niño began in Cebu City. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan gave Cebu’s Hara Humamay (later known as Queen Juana) an image of the child Jesus as gift during their Christian baptism in 1521.
The original image of the Sto. Niño is presently venerated in a bullet-proof glass case at the marble chapel inside the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino in downtown Cebu City.
The Santo Niño image has been replicated in many homes and business establishments, with different titles reinterpreted in various areas of the country.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
