Manila (UCAN): The Archdiocese of Cebu, the Philippines, says it has been forced to reimpose strict Covid-19 pandemic protocols for the Fiesta Señor, honouring the Child Jesus, or Santo Niño, which starts on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Epiphany in January. It will be the second straight year that the festivities have been curtailed [Sunday Examiner, January 17].
“After assessment and discernment of the risks brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Basilica Friars together with the Cebu City government and the Emergency Operation Centre, Cebu City, have decided to hold virtual novena Masses during the fiesta,” the archdiocese announced on its Facebook page.
The archdiocese said it would broadcast all novena Masses on its social media platforms and on radio and television networks.
‘We appeal for understanding from all Cebuanos and devotees … as we take precautionary measures to protect the health of all. It is our moral and Christian obligation to protect one another against Covid-19’
Father Nelson Zerda
The Minor Basilica of the Holy Child of Cebu, where the Santo Niño is kept, will be open for devotees who wish to pray and venerate the image from 4.30am to 7.30pm during the festival.
“But we will regulate the number of people who can go inside the basilica. Devotees need to be patient,” the announcement said.
Festival organisers urged devotees to show understanding and respect the decision.
The festival, which usually lasts just over a week, is the oldest in the Philippines and normally attracts tens of thousands of devotees each year, culminating with the feast of Santo Niño on the third Sunday of January.
The celebrations mark the occasion when a dark wooden image of the baby Jesus was presented to the wife of Cebu’s local chieftain by Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, in 1521. It is thought to be the oldest Spanish-era relic in the Philippines.
“We appeal for understanding from all Cebuanos and devotees … as we take precautionary measures to protect the health of all. It is our moral and Christian obligation to protect one another against Covid-19,” Father Nelson Zerda, the basilica rector, told Radio Veritas, referring to some of the cancelled festival highlights such as carnival street dances, the Fluvial Procession, Penitential Walk of Jesus and the Solemn Foot Procession.
City officials said that the decision to cancel most of the traditional events was mainly a result of Cebu’s low vaccination rate.
However, Covid-19 infections have dropped significantly since the beginning of November, according to the city’s Emergency Operations Centre which reported 216 active cases as of November 4.
“We don’t want to waste the gains we have made in the past months,” city councillor Joel Garganera told reporters when commenting on the cancellation of the mass festival gatherings.
