The day Pope Francis concluded his three-day visit to the Philippines, the Filipinos in Manteca were playing host to parishioners from more than a dozen parishes in the Diocese of Stockton for the annual celebration of the Feast of Santo Nino.
The day opened with a concelebrated Mass held in St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church on East North Street. Presiding over the worship service in the morning were Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Father Pat Walker who is the church pastor, and Father Dante Dammay, the vicar of the church.
The religious celebration then moved into the gym where a sumptuous luncheon featuring various native Filipino dishes were served to the guests. They included roasted pig, pancit (noodles), lumpia (eggrolls), and an array of dessert treats.
The ethnic gastronomical feast turned into a colorful visual feast with representatives of the other parishes performing various Filipino native dances. From St. Luke’s parish in Stockton was a group of dancers, the youngest of whom was 16-month-old Rylan Janine Perez, all garbed in bright red-and-gold costumes, who gave a fast-paced Ati-Atihan dance number that was accompanied by the heart-stopping rhythmic sounds of snare drums.
Another group of dancers from St.George parish in Stockton was comprised of women dressed in Maria Clara costumes for their performance of “Kakawati,” a Filipino folk dance.
Central to all the celebration was the Filipinos’ deep devotion to the Santo Nino. Replica statues of the Santo Nino were a common sight throughout the day, with devotees reverently holding in their hands the Baby Jesus clad in bright-red clothes with a golden crown on its head and the world in the palm of one hand.
The original Santo Nino was given as a gift by explorer Ferdinand Magellan via another explorer to Lady Humamay, the chief consort of Rajah Humabon, in the early 1500s, according to historical records. The Philippines oldest religious Christian image is widely believed as miraculous.
“As devout Catholics, we were raised to believe in the Santo Nino,” said Mantecan Maritoni Diaz who, like many of the guests who came to the Saturday event, wore native Filipino costumes.
While the Santo Nino is the official patron of Cebu, where the original Santo Nino is enshrined in a church there, and while “it was given to us (in Cebu) by Magellan,” it was a gift to the whole country, explained Diaz who said her prayers were answered by the Santo Nino recently when her sister was seriously ill.
Saturday’s celebration was preceded by a novena – nine days of prayers – to the Santo Nino. It’s an annual ritual leading up to the celebration on the 10th day of prayers. Like the annual Portuguese festa, or the Mexican feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the feast day of the Santo Nino, led by the diocesan-wide Filipino-American Ministry of Santo Nino, is observed at various parishes which take turn every year in hosting a day-long diocesan event like the one that took place on Saturday at St. Anthony’s.
