Santo Niño

The Santo Niño de Cebú is a Roman Catholic figure of the Child Jesus highly similar to the Infant Jesus of Prague. Like the image's counterpart in Prague, the figure is clothed in expensive textile robes mostly donations from fervent devotees in the Philippines and abroad. The statue is the oldest Catholic relic in the Philippines and permanently housed since 1565 at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City, Cebu. In April, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in the service of Charles I of Spain, arrived in Cebu during his voyage to find a westward route to the Indies He persuaded Rajah Humabon and his wife Hara Amihan, to pledge their allegiance with Spain.