This is the 500th Anniversary of the Philippines’ Miraculous Image and Devotion

The statue of the Santo Niño is safely returned to Cebu City in the Philippines on April 3, 1945. Father McHugh of Ireland (l) and Augustinian Father Moran of Spain, hid the statue in the hills throughout the Japanese occupation of Cebu Island during World War II.

Santo Niño de Cebú, the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus and the devotion that helped make the Philippines grow into one of the largest Catholic populations in the world, is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year.