FAMOUS STO. NIÑO IMAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

SANTO NINO DE CEBU

Cebu, Philippines

(details: thanks to wikipedia and other sites)

The image measures approximately twelve inches tall, and is believed to be originally made inFlanders, Belgium. The statue is clothed in valuable textiles, and bears an imperial regalia that includes a solid gold crown, globus cruciger, and various sceptres mostly donated from devotees in the Philippines and abroad.

The image of the Santo Niño is kept in the Santo Nino Chapel of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu. It is considered the oldest religious relic in the Philippines.^[4]

In April 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, in the service of Charles V of Spain, arrived in Cebu during his voyage to find a westward route to theIndies.^[5] He persuaded Rajah Humabon and his chief wife Humaway, to pledge their allegiance to Spain. They were later baptised into the Catholic faith, taking the Christian names Carlos (after Charles V) and Juana (after Joanna of Castile, his mother).

According to Antonio Pigafetta, Italian chronicler to the Spanish expedition, Ferdinand Magellan handed Pigafetta the image to be given to the Rajah's wife right after the baptismal rite officiated by Padre Pedro Valderrama.^[5] It was Pigafetta himself who personally presented the Santo Niño to the newly baptised Queen Juana as a symbol of their new alliance, her newly baptized husband King Carlos, Magellan presented the bust of "Ecce Homo", or the depiction of Christ before Pontius Pilate. He also presented an image of the Virgin Mary to the natives who were baptised after their rulers. Magellan died on 27 April 1521 in the Battle of Mactan. Legends say that after initial efforts by the natives to destroy it, the image was venerated as the animist creator deity Bathala.^{[citation needed]} Many historians consider the facial structure of the statue made fromBelgium, where Infant Jesus of Prague statues were also common.

44 years after Magellan's soldiers left, the next Spanish expedition arrived on April 27, 1565, led by Miguel López de Legazpi. He found the natives hostile, fearing retribution for Magellan's death, and the village caught fire in the ensuing conflict. The next day, the Spanish mariner Juan Camus found the image of the Santo Niño in a pine box amidst the ruins of a burnt house.^[4] The image, carved from wood and coated with paint, stood 30 centimetres tall, and wore a loose velvet garment, a gilded neck chain and a red woolen hood. A golden globus cruciger or orb was in the left hand, with the right hand slightly raised in benediction. Camus presented the image to Miguel López de Legazpi and the Augustinian priests; the natives refused to associate it with the gift of Magellan, claiming it had existed there since ancient times. Writer Dr. Resil Mojares wrote that the natives did so for fear that the Spaniards would demand it back. The natives’ version of the origin of the Santo Niño is in the Agipo (stump or driftwood) legend, which states that the statue was caught by a fisherman who chose to get rid of it, only to have it returned with a plentiful harvest.

The statue was later taken out for procession, afterwards which Legazpi then ordered the creation of the Confraternity of the Santo Niño de Cebú, appointing Father Andrés de Urdaneta as head superior. Legazpi instituted a fiesta to commemorate the finding of the image, and the original celebration still survives.

The Minor Basilica of Santo Niño (Spanish: Basílica Minore del Santo Niño) was built on the spot where the image was found by Juan Camus. The church was originally made out of bamboo and mangrove palm and claims to be the oldest parish in the Philippines. Pope Paul VI elevated its rank as Minor Basilica on its 400th year anniversary.

SANTO NINO DE MECHELEN (FRATERNAL TWIN OF CEBU)

Mechelen, South Netherlands

The image is often referred to the "fraternal twin" of the Santo Niño de Cebu, with which it shares crucial similarities on posture, gesture, facial expression, and measurement. In September 2009, the image was privately acquired and now housed in the Louvre Museum under security glass. It is displayed naked without any regalia, accessories or vestments formerly associated with other Child Jesus icons.

Both the Mechelen statues and the Santo Niño de Cebu are approximately the same height at approximately 30 cm (12 inches) tall, while having similar characteristics such as the standing pose, naked body, hand blessing gesture and golden globes. Assuming that the camera shots are frontally accurate, the faces are almost exactly similar to one another with the following exceptions:

• In published photographs, the Mechelen statue looks frontal and towards in a direct line, while the Cebu statue looks in a downward direction to the devotee
• The Cebu statue's fingers lean to the left, while that of the Mechelen statue points to the right. The original wooden fingers however point upwards when the golden glove is removed.
• The Mechelen statue's hair is sculpted all the way to the knape or close to the neckline, while the Cebu statue looks like it is only up to the earlobes. (thanks wikipedia)

SANTO NINO DE PRAGA (OF PRAGUE)

Czech Republic

The Church of Our Lady Victorious (Panny Marie Vítězné) in Lesser Town (Malá Strana) of Prague has a world-famous small wax statuette of the Santo Niño de Praga at the side altar. The statuette is considered one of the most sacred religious objects of Kingdom of Bohemia

Santo Niño came to Prague from Spain sometime after 1555 as a wedding gift for one of the Spanish princesses who married a prominent Czech nobleman Vratislav of Pernstejn. Her daughter Polyxena, who married Vilem of Rozumberk, received the statuette again as a wedding gift. Later, Polyxena took the statuette with her to her second marriage with Zdenek Vojtech of Lobkowicz. After his death she donated the statuette of the Infant Jesus to the church in 1628 during the Thirty Year War.

Santo Niño de Praga is a work of an old Spanish monk. It is believed that it is a copy of a venerated wooden sculpture. Copies of the Infant Jesus were exported by the missionaries to Mexico and other countries that were conquered by the Spanish crown. The missionaries with the famous Legazpi brought the statuette to the Philippines. There copies of it had emerged in Cebu and spread further around the islands.

The poetic image of a small vulnerable child traveling through a perilous world who overcomes danger and obstacles by gentleness and forgiveness was as powerful in Prague as well as among the people of the Philippines.

SANTO NINO DE ATOCHA

Atocha (Madrid), Spain

In artwork, the Holy Child often wears a brimmed hat with a plume and a cloak or cape ornate with the St. James shell; during the Crusades, scallop shells were the symbol of holy pilgrimages and one European variation is still referred to as "the pilgrim" or "St. James shell." In His left hand, He carries a pilgrim's staff fastened to the gourd, a pair of shackles, and a few spikes of wheat. In His right hand, he holds a basket which generally contains bread or flowers or sometimes it appears empty even though it isn't. Then the flowers are depicted as outside of the basket, adorning the image to one side and they are almost always roses. 

El Niño de Atocha either wears sandals or is barefoot and tradition says that He roams the hills and valleys, particularly at night, bringing aid and comfort to the needy, and thereby wearing out His shoes. Thus, some images of Him have His feet not showing at all, with the image stopping at His hemline. He is usually shown seated. The original statue of the Holy Child of Atocha is imported from Spain, and now resides in the little town of Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico. The Santo Niño de Atocha is the patron of those unjustly imprisoned, travelers and people in danger.

The Spanish explorers and Franciscans evangelized the new world. Many statues of Jesus and Mary were brought over from Spain; in 1554, that the statues of the Santo Niño was brought over from Atocha, Spain, to the village of Fresnillo in Zacatecas, Mexico. Immediately, many villagers claimed seeing the little pilgrim and reported miracles attributed to the Santo Niño of Atocha. The statue that came from Spain had the Holy Child sitting on the lap of His Mother. Once, the statue separated itself from His Mother. No one knows exactly how or why this happened. The people had a throne built for the Santo Niño, from where He reigns today. He is also to be found in His Own Chapel in the Santuario de Plateros.

SANTO BAMBINO DI ARA COELI

Rome, Italy

The wooden image measures approximately 60 centimeters tall and depicts the Child Jesus in his infancy stage. According to the historical records preserved at the Basilica, the image was carved from a single block of Olive wood that belonged in the Garden of Gethsemani by a Franciscan monkwho was assigned to the Holy Land in the 15th century.

The image was stolen on 2 February 1797 by the French army during the French Revolution, but was retrieved by a Roman named Patriarch Severino through a paid ransom. It stayed in the convent of Trasteverino for one year and five days while a new shrine was built to secure the image.

A solar brooch depicting the allegorical image Sun of Justice was attached to the image, later stolen, and was associated with the Milanese jeweler Carlo Sartore. The Sun of Justice is still depicted in older 19th-century lithographs of the image.

The original image was stolen again in February 1994, and an exact copy resides at the shrine today.

SANTO NINO DE TONDO

Tondo, Manila, Philippines (2nd oldest image in the country)

SANTO NINO DE AREVALO (3rd oldest image in the country)

Arevalo, Iloilo, Philippines

SANTO NINO DE PANDACAN

Pandacan, Manila

SANTO NINO DE ROMBLON

Romblon, Philippines

SANTO NINO DE PALABOY

Philippines

(first made by Fred Baldemor of Paete in 1974, to honor

the streetchildren of the Philippines)