Basilica Minore Del Santo Nino Cebu City

The Basílica Minore del Santo Niño

 is the oldest church in the Philippines.

Aimed to preserve the Catholic Heritage, the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino museum was created inside the Basilica which is known 

to be the oldest church in the Philippines.

  

The place that usually attracts tourists, foreigner or native alike, reflects and showcases the history of Christianity in Cebu.  The Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño or Basilica Minore del Santo Niño is a 16th century church in Cebu City in the Philippines. It was built purportedly on the spot where the image of the Santo Nino, a sculpture depicting the Holy Child Jesus found by Spanish explorers in 1565 preserved in a burned wooden box which was left behind during the 1521 Magellan  expedition.

The church of Santo Niño de Cebu was founded by an Augustinian priest, Andres de Urdaneta on April 28, 1565. The first church structure was built out of earth, hard wood and nipa in 1566 ordered by Friar Diego de Herrera. In 1735, Fernando Valdés y Tamon, the Governor of Cebu, ordered the church to be constructed of hard stone, which was built in the same spot were the previous church stood. Construction was completed in 1739. In 1965, during the fourth centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines, Pope Paul VI elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica .The Basilica remains under the care of the Order of St. Augustine.

                                      

because we are Christian... we beat us one