This Happened Here
Central Visayas: the gift found again
In 1521 Magellan gave Cebu's queen a wooden image of the Child Jesus. In 1565 one of Legazpi's soldiers found an image of the Child Jesus in a Cebu house, judged evidently the same.
0:59 · Central Visayas · October 9, 2026
The story
In 1521, a gift changed hands in Cebu. Forty-four years later, it was found again. April 14, 1521. Rajah Humabon, his queen and about eight hundred people were baptized. Pigafetta wrote that the queen was shown a wooden image of the Child Jesus.
She was named Johanna, and Magellan gave her the image. Two weeks later, Magellan died on Mactan. In 1565, Legazpi's expedition took the town.
In a large house, a soldier, Juan de Camuz, found an image of the Child Jesus. Flowers had been placed before it. Only the little cross on its globe was missing. The editors of the old records called it evidently the same image.
Legazpi made the day of the finding a yearly feast. It has been venerated ever since. Sugbuanon ka? What does your family call the Santo Niño at home? Tell us in the comments.
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