to be celebrated on
Saturday - Januar 16, 1999 3:00 PM
St Peters' Church
144 Grand St, Corner of Van Vorst St
Jersey City, N J 07302
Exchange Place Area: (201) 434-4307
Hosted by:
Kapisanang' Diwa ng Mahirap
Efren E Cristobal - (201) 432-6009
Lydia I Dapito (201)387-2297
Leny M Isidro-Cristobal- (212)870-3428
Arsenio Isidro Family- (914)428-1810
St Peter's Church Sto Nino Group
(Please bring the Sto Nino at your home for blessing after the Mass)
The
Tradition Comes to Jersey City....
On March 17, 1521, a Portuguese named Ferdinand Magellan, who offered
his services to the King of Spain, first sighted the island of Samar.
This event marked the coming of the first Spaniards in the
Philippines. Guided by Rajah Kulambu, then ruler of Limasawa Island,
Magellan and his men entered the harbor of Cebu on April 8, 1521.
Magellan then instructed his Malay slave, Enrique, to assure the
Cebuanos that they came as friends. Cebu at that time was already sprawling
trading port in Malay Archipelago. A Moslem vessel was anchored on the
bay but showed not hostilities. An Arab garbed trader even facilitated the
the communication. It was historic meeting in the sense that the Moslem
faith that propagated east and the Christianity that spread west from their
common birthplace in the Middle east now met coming from opposite
directions. Then ruler Rajah Humabon welcomed
the Spaniards and on April 15, a Mass was celebrated. The chieftain,
his wife
Queen Juana and around 800 natives became Christians. Magellan presented
Juana an image of the Infant Jesus which later became the patron of
Cebu. Thirteen days
after the first mass in Cebu, Magellan met his death when he engaged
in battle Mactan chieftain Lapulapu. Rajah Humabon witnessed the
vulnerability of the explorer then plotted to kill the officers after
inviting
them ashore. On May 1, 1521 the remaining crew of Magellan left Cebu.
The expedition that once came in the name of God turned into one that
was reduced to pirating. Sebastian El Cano and the emancipated crew of
18 men struggled back to Spain onboard the Victoria, first ship to go around
the world.
(source: History of Cebu)
Forty-four years later, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, together with
Augustinian Father Andres de Urdaneta, landed in Cebu on April 27,
1565, destroying the remaining settlements. The natives
fearing vengeance by the European everytime tall ships were sighted
run up the hills. The city was burn to the ground. After the destruction,
they found from one of the burned houses the image of the Sto. Nino.
Legazpi then founded what is now known as Cebu City, formerly La Villa
del Santissimo Nombre de Jesus. And finally, on August 6, 1569, Legazpi
(Hernando Cortez of the Philippines) was appointed Governor and
Captain General by Spain's King Philip II through a royal cedula. Thus,
Cebu, as a province, was also born. The Santo Nino Ican survived and
the tradition
continued and was brought to Jersey City and celebrated in the month
of
January every year.
Nestor Palugod Enriquez
(