Why would a devotee ditch the Pope for Sinulog?

CEBU CITY, Philippines – She was already in Manila, but not even a once-in-a lifetime chance to see a pope could stop her from going to Cebu instead for the yearly Sinulog festival.

Virginia Ramirez Bas, 61, didn’t have plans of breaking her 20-year vow to mount a pilgrimage to the Basilica del Santo Niño, the image of the child Jesus which many consider to have granted miracles.

It is a devotion she shares with her husband Gennis, a liason officer of a construction firm in Mandaue City, Cebu. 

“May mga photos at videos naman na p’wede kong tingnan pagbalik ko sa Maynila. Nag-promise ‘yung mga kasamahan ko na mag-video sila ni Pope Francis,” said Bas, who, with her husband, joined the throng that waited under the sun Saturday, January 17, for the image of the Sto. Niño to emerge outside the basilica.

(There are photos and videos that I can see later when I get back to Manila anyway. My friends promised they’d take videos of Pope Francis.)

The couple was among the 500,000 estimated devotees who joined the 5-kilometer solemn procession along Cebu City’s main streets Saturday afternoon.

The procession of the Fiesta Señor was the highlight of religious activities related to the Sinulog. Most of the devotees brought with them different sizes of the image of the red-caped Santo Niño de Cebu.  

Early Saturday morning, the famous image used in the main altar of the basilica was placed on a Boat that depicted the galleon La Trinidad, believed to be what brought the Santo Niño got to Cebu during Ferdinand Magellan’s conquest.

A reenactment of the first Catholic Baptism was also held at the Basilica after the Mactan Channel procession.   

“Lahat kasi ng hinihiling ko sa Santo Niño ay ibinibigay n’ya, kaya nandito ako,” Bas said. (I’m here because the Holy Child has given me everything Ii’ve asked for.)

And she has not asked for anything big, she said, just for “little miracles.

“‘Yung nag-take ng exam ‘yong eldest ko, nag-pray ako na makapasa sa board exam. Ayun, ‘binigay ni Santo Niño. Tapos ngayon, itong youngest ko, magte-take ng licensure para sa teachers. ‘Yon ang hiningi ko sa Kanya ngayong taon.”

(When my eldest child took the board exams, I prayed for him to pass. The Holy Child heard me. Now, my youngest is going to take the licensure exam for teachers. That’s what I’m asking him to bless this year.)

Bas was born in Manila, and is helping out her sister manage a cafeteria in Baclaran. Her husband and two children are, however, in their home in Mandaue City, Cebu.

This isn’t the family setup she prefers, if only she has a choice. She rarely goes to her family here in the Visayas because of her work in Manila. In return for helping at the cafeteria, her sister pays for the tuition of her children.

And this is the reason she thought she had to make it to the pilgrimage this year, even against her sister’s wishes for them to see Pope Francis in Manila instead.

This is her prayer: “‘Yung kami, family namin, na maging intact na, hindi na kami hiwalay. Kasi ‘pag nakapasa na ang youngest ko, hindi na ako magtatrabaho sa akong sister kasi tapos na ang pag-aaral nga lahat nga anak ko.”

(My prayer is for our family to finally be intact, for us not to live apart anymore. When my youngest child passes the licensure exam, I won’t need to work for my sister anymore, because by then all my children shall have finished their studies.)

Just then, the Basilica gates finally opened. An excited Virginia Bas raised her hand, amid a cheering crowd and a shower of confetti, to wave at the image placed on a glass box atop a carrosa adorned with white, yellow, and red tulips.

Her husband Gennie raised the 12-inch antique replica of the Santo Niño they had brought from their house in Mandaue. Their two children later joined them.

As the carrosa got nearer, Virginia Bas took out her handkerchief and wiped the tears from her eyes. She was smiling, not minding the rains brought on by the storm Amang – maybe just like how the millions of Catholics braved the rains to see the Pope back in Manila. – Rappler.com