Viva Santo Niño! Parishes celebrate Christianity’s arrival in the Philippines (Photos / Video)
Eight parishes in the Archdiocese of Newark celebrated the Santo Niño Festival last weekend, commemorating the introduction of Christianity to the Philippines more than 500 years ago.
Filipino Catholics processed into Mass to the sound of drums and the waving of flags, wearing the traditional, colorful clothing of the Philippines. Dancers carrying images of the Child Jesus swayed back and forth to the drum beats, performing the popular Sinulog dance, which means “like water current movement.” Many parishioners brought their own Santo Niño statues to be blessed and placed at the altar.
Throughout the Mass, traditional Santo Niño hymns could be heard – including a powerful rendition of the popular song Batobalani sa Gugma (Magnet of Love), which demonstrates Filipino Catholics’ devotion to the Child Jesus.
The song, which in full spans six to seven minutes, is performed after the homily or before the offertory. When the chorus arrives, the faithful raise their voices and wave their hands in unison in front of the Santo Niño as an act of worship, singing: Kanamo malooy ka unta / Nga kanimo nangilaba (Have mercy on us / Whom to you we devote unto).
The Santo Nino festival has been celebrated in the Archdiocese of Newark for more than half a century, according to the director of the Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese of Newark, Father JM Manolo Punzalan.
“Filipinos have been celebrating the Santo Niño Festival in the Archdiocese for over 50 years now. Although we don’t have a big archdiocesan event, it is big in parishes where we celebrate it,” he said.
On Jan. 15, Bishop Manuel Cruz celebrated the Mass at St. Anthony in Belleville and Bishop Michael Saporito celebrated at St. Henry in Bayonne.
The other parish that celebrated the festival on Jan. 14-15 were Divine Mercy in Rahway, Our Lady of Mercy in Jersey City, St. Aloysius in Jersey City, St. John the Evangelist in Bergenfield, St. Joseph in Lodi, and St. Theresa in Kenilworth. Photos from the parish festivals can be viewed below.
An additional two celebrations of Santo Niño are upcoming. St. Valentine in Bloomfield will celebrate the festival on Jan. 22 at 1:30 p.m. and St. Michael the Archangel in Union on Jan. 29 at 3 p.m.
Joe Jordan is a writer with Jersey Catholic, Archdiocese of Newark.
Featured image: Parishioner process in with the statue of the Child Jesus during the Santo Niño Festival at St. Aloysius Church in Jersey City on Jan. 15. (Courtesy of St. Aloysius – Jersey City)
