Sto. Niño de Pasion de Makati - Makati's Sorrowing Prince and Protector

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Sto. Niño de Pasion de Makati
Within the tall skyscrapers, commercial establishments, billboards, modern residences and edifices that nestled the City of Makati, one can hardly see an imprint of the past in this city which is hidden behind the face of Modern Makati.

Yet, if one is looking for a glimpse of Makati's Past and Centuries old tradition, it is the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Poblacion, Makati City, the home of the Ancient patrons of Makati City - Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles and the two unique images in the country that can be found in Makati City: the Nustra Señora de la Rosa de Makati. the Queen and Patroness of Makati City and the Santo Niño de Pasion, the Prince and Protector of the city.

The sorrowing Child Jesus venerated in Makati might be strange to some who have heard or seen it for the first time, yet for the people of Poblacion, Makati City and devotees from other places in the country who knew the Sorrowing Child of the city, the Santo Niño de Pasion is their mighty protector from pestilence that sometime hit the city and other calamities that struck the old Pueblo of San Pedro de Macati (the original name of Makati City) and the devotion is proven to be enduring over the years, despite the modern face lift of the once cattle raising pueblo. 

The Image

The image of the Santo Niño de Pasion is a wooden image of the Child Jesus which is designed as a de vestir image which is meant to be vested. The Child is depicted with a Sorrowful mien, holding a small cross on his left hand while the other is holding a crown of thorns and three nails as if he contemplating his future Passion that He will endure when he reached the age of thirty three. He is vested with different shades of purple and maroon robes to further emphasize the penitential spirit of the beholder.

The depiction of the Santo Niño de Pasion is probably based from two pious legends surrounding his childhood. First is when he was still at the age of twelve and helping His foster father St. Joseph in their workshop saw a small wooden cross from scraps together with some nails and thorny weeds and devised like a crown and foreseeing the only means mankind could be redeemed - His death on the Cross. Another pious legend about this depiction is the Perpetual Help Icon tradition where the Child Jesus saw the Archangels Gabriel and Michael holding the instruments of His future Passion and death that he ran to the Blessed Virgin Mary and consoled him which was depicted in the famous icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. 

The depiction of the Child might be compared to the famed Santo Niño de Remedio of Spain where the Child Jesus is also depicted with a sorrowful mien and holding a big cross in his left arm which became popular during the Siglo de Oro of the Spanish Era, which is also ironically, the Reformation and Counter reformation period where the spirit of penance and repentance is being preached explicitly to the faithful.

The rise of the devotion in Makati

The devotion to the Santo Niño de Pasion began in 1885 thru the efforts of Fr. Manuel Marco. The origins of the image is somewhat unknown for there were theories that the image might come either from Spain or Mexico, others suggests that the image was locally carved by local artisans, yet despite the lack of records regarding his origins, the devotion gradually became known throughout San Pedro de Makati.

The devotion to the sorrowing Child reached its peak when an epidemic hit the pueblo and the people immediately asked for the help of the Niño to spare them from the epidemic that was killing hundreds at that time.

The Sorrowing Child did not turn a deaf ear and the epidemic suddenly disappeared that saved the old pueblo. With this particular miracle, his feast day was celebrated with much pomp and solemnity throughout Makati for centuries and the devotion became widespread.

Another miracle that was attributed to the Santo Niño de Pasion is the speedy liberation of San Pedro de Makati from the Japanese forces that took place on February 3, 1945 for the people are continuously pleading the Child to free them from the abusive Japanese soldiers who are causing havoc at that time.

In thanksgiving, the municipal government of San Pedro de Makati participated in the celebrations of the Santo Niño de Pasion as a perpetual thanksgiving to the protection that he gave to his chosen abode for centuries and also asking for his continuous protection of Makati.

Santo Niño de Pasion de Makati
in procession
The devotion continues

The Feast of the Santo Niño de Pasion was formerly celebrated first during Septuagesima Sunday (Three Sundays before First Sunday of Lent) in the Tridentine Calendar, then later moved to Sunday after Ash Wednesday with the reforms of the Liturgical Calendar in the Second Vatican Council and finally moved to its current feast every Second Sunday of Lent. The feast of the Santo Niño de Pasion serves as the closing of all Santo Niño festivals in the country and clearly signals that the Church is now entering the Lenten Season.

On the novena days, the Dalit to the Santo Niño de Pasion is recited or sung which recounts his meditations on his early life and the Passion that he will face in the future and as well as a supplication for his continues protection to the city, as well as to his loyal devotees over the centuries, the feast in highlighted with a solemn procession in his honor where the Santo Niño de Pasion is placed in his flower-decked carozza and he is accompanied by the images of Saint Joseph and Nuestra Señora dela Rosa, the Patroness of Makati.

The Santo Niño de Pasion is one of the prized remnants of Makati City's past that should never be forgotten by its residents. The Sorrowing Child of Makati played an integral role in the history of the city as its loving protector from plagues and disasters that struck the city in the past for without him, Makati City will never be the same.

Santo Nino de Pasion, Diyos nami’y Panginoon Kami’y iyong ipagtanggol sa panganib at linggatong. 

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