Sto. Niño Church

Sto. Niño Church of Tacloban City draws its awesome grandeur from the history of its people and the icon of the Child Jesus who’ve made it a permanent home. A bastion of Catholicism in this city of 220,000, Sto. Niño church safeguards the evangelical faith of approximately 70% of Taclobanons who are Catholics. Headed by a monsignor, he’d be assisted by five or seven other clerics who help him manage the busy schedule of the parish. I used to serve the parish priest here when I was still a seminarian. The parish church is usually very busy during Lent and from Advent to Christmas. Significant church events are also held here.

Going back through time, the original church structure was built by the Jesuits as a small chapel or ‘visita’ under the titular Dulce Nombre de Jesus. They found the location a practical site for the new converts since it faces a wide channel and is situated on solid plain ground. The small chapel was made up of light materials and nipa. The Jesuits would visit the ‘Iglesia Katoliko’ by way of a vanca, from a nearby port known as Balyuan. This happened around 1596 and came under the guidance of the Palo friary. When the Jesuits where expelled from the country, the Augustininans from nearby Cebu Basilica del Sto. Niño took over and renamed the chapel Sto. Niño in 1768, the same year when Tacloban was declared ac city and the first Spanish settlers settled in. The Franciscans came in around 1843 to manage the parish and by 1860, a new Romanesque Church in was built with a towering appearance and the prominence of round arches and small windows ventilating around the church. The church was made of adobe and a mixture of coral stones, a common style and method during this period. Two belfries were attached on top. Unfortunately, a strong typhoon blew the uppermost part of the roof and caved in, paving way for the church to be rebuilt with only one belfry. During wartime, an earthquake damaged the church and a new more modern style was built with the aid of semi-modern construction materials. It was only in 1990 that the church was finally handed over to the Archdiocese of Palo. The present form of the church dates back to 1986 with a new repainting job in early 2000. The new altar was inaugurated during the Jubilee year on April 15, 2000. Several noted priests became the parish priest of Sto. Nino including the now bishop Rev. Monsignor Filomeno Bactol, Msgr. Cesar Petilla, and Msgr. Abarca.