CEBU CITY -- The 500-day countdown to the 500th year commemoration of the first baptism in the Philippines will kick off in front of the historical kiosk of Magellan’s Cross on Sunday.
Archbishop Jose S. Palma will preside over the 6 a.m. Eucharistic celebration to mark the start of commemorating the acceptance of Christianity by the natives of early Cebu.
A statement from the Augustinian friary said Palma will also lead the blessing of the Tindalo Cross, a replica of the Magellan’s Cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers, as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu on the 16th or 17th of March 1521.
“The Tindalo Cross, which will be named the 2021 Jubilee Cross, will be visiting 500 parishes of the Archdiocese of Cebu and other dioceses of the country, together with the pilgrim image of the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu,” it said.
Fr. Aladdin Luzon, chair of the Santo Niño at 500 Committee, said a foot procession passing through P. Burgos Street going to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral – the first church that will be visited by the 2021 Jubilee Cross – will follow after the Mass.
The Augustinian friars also announced that the 5:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. regular Masses at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu will not be celebrated to give way to the opening salvo.
A road closure will be implemented on the Osmeña Boulevard and P. Burgos Street corridor that will start at 4 a.m. on the day of the celebration to ensure the security and safety of the clerics and the faithful who will flock to the Basilica for the kick-off activity.
Luzon said they will not allow backpacks inside the venue starting at 4 a.m. on Sunday until the end of the celebration.
“This milestone is in collaboration with the Augustinian friars of the Order of St. Augustine Province of Santo Niño de Cebu – Philippines,” the statement read.
The Augustinians were the first missionaries in the Philippines and the caretakers of the miraculous image since 1565. It was on April 14, 1521, when the first baptism was celebrated in the Philippines, according to the accounts of Venetian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta. (PNA)
