Magellan's One Precious Cargo

We might not often realize it, but one precious cargo of the Magellan Armada that survives up to now is none other than the Santo Niño of Cebu. In fact it is the only object -- a religious relic, from the great expedition that is still with us.

Magellan and his men brought with them merchandise like mirrors, combs, other fancy objects like costumes and feather hats etc., obviously to attract the curiosities of the cultures and people they will encounter. Some of these objects were later sold or bartered by the crew for food supplies and also for precious spices.

The image of the child Jesus dressed in a 16th century costume, a full regalia for a European child prince was a gift to Humabon's wife , said to be in honor or her baptism. After the horrific massacre of some of Magellan's men in Cebu and the subsequent escape of the armada, nothing was heard of again about the fate of the early Cebuano Christian converts. Until Legazpi arrived in Cebu, four decades later-- 1565

As one story goes, when some of Legazpi's men were making rounds in a village, they stumbled upon the image of the Sto. Niño wrapped in a cloth in a box, inside a hut. Upon seeing it, the men were overcome with religious fervour, some kneeled others cried learning that the statue of the holy child, which they believed to be the same image brought by Magellan, had survived. 

In the midst of all the pomp and of course the noises involved in the celebration of the Santo Niño nowadays, I often think about its true narrative: How this image made it into the voyage, first as cargo, in which I also asked whether this Sto.Nino was put in an altar inside the captain's ship? Some might even question the veracity of the story of Legazpi's men.  How did the image become an object of veneration to millions of Filipinos?  All these queries that often leads to a bigger question that involves faith. 

Pasig City. January 2020