According to Abaco, there could only be one plausible explanation for how the image ended up there: it may have been part of the cargo carried by a ship plying the galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco, Mexico, during the Spanish colonial period.
A storm that often disturbs the Pacific Ocean may have sunk or destroyed the galleon, and the currents may have swept the image into the Pasig River leading to one of its arteries in Pandacan, which was then part of the parish of Sampaloc.
“The discovery of the little statue of Sto. Niño was only the start in the train of miraculous happenings,” Abaco wrote.
Over the years, some elders of Sampaloc attempted to transfer the image to their parish church following the discovery. But strangely, the image always found its way back, reappearing at the very site where it was discovered.
After this peculiar reappearance, residents began to revere the site, building a nipa hut to enshrine the miraculous image. The water hole frequented by carabaos was eventually turned into a well, where a natural spring thrives to this day.
Eventually, the Franciscan friars and the townsfolk had a stone chapel built on the hallowed spot, also incorporating the well. This was finished in time for the formal creation of the parish of Pandacan in 1712, when the district was ecclesiastically separated from the Loreto Church of Sampaloc.
No comments:
Post a Comment