Fact Check: Cebu Archbishop Palma did not bless ‘naked Santo Niño’

CLAIM: Cebu Archbishop Palma blessed limited edition ‘naked Santo Niño’ lucky charms

RATING: FALSE

A video circulating on Facebook falsely claims that the archbishop of Cebu has blessed limited-edition lucky charms of an image of the infant Jesus.

The video features what appears to be an AI-generated priest, “Father Niño,” claiming to be giving away for free limited edition “Santo Niño Hubad” amulets in celebration of his 40 years as a member of the Cebu clergy.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma denied blessing the unauthorized naked Santo Niño lucky charms.

“I didn’t bless any naked Señor Sto. Niño. The things said in the video promotion are not true,” Palma said in a video message.

Also, the Cebu archdiocese does not have a priest by the name of “Father Niño,” according to Fr. Junel Fuentes, Palma’s secretary.

The video, which has been engaged more than 19,000 times and commented on more than 10,000 times, is promoting the amulet of the naked, brass-colored Santo Niño as a “pampaswerte,” going against church teaching against lucky charms. 

It has also been shared more than 360 times as of posting.

The Santo Niño of Cebu, brought by Spanish missionaries in 1521 and recovered by the first wave of colonizers in 1565, is the oldest venerated image in the Philippines. Felipe F. Salvosa II, Roy Lagarde

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This piece is republished with permission from PressOne.