CLOSE to 6,000 candles were lighted on the street of Calasanz fronting the San Jose Parish Placer to form an image of the Sto. Niño or the Holy Child Jesus on Saturday, January 18, 2020.
Fr. Raymund Edsel Alcayaga, parish priest of San Jose Parish Placer, home of Señor Santo Niño de Cebu in Iloilo, said this was the first time for the San Jose Church to make an image of the Child Jesus using candles.
The event, dubbed Kasanag Niño, was organized by the San Jose Parish led by Fr. Alcayaga together with the Iloilo City Government, Iloilo Provincial Government, and Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (Iffi).
Sara Peña, chairperson of Miss Iloilo 2020 and wife of Iffi chairman Rito Carlos Peña, said she is thankful to the church for organization the event in honor of Sto. Niño.
Fr. Alcayaga said the candle lighting was dubbed "Kasanag Niño" because Sto. Niño is "kasanag sang aton kabuhi" (light of our life).
Hundreds of devotees attended the Novena Mass held before the candle lighting ceremony in front of the church.
Earlier, Fr. Alcayaga announced that 5,000 candles will be used for the image. The number of candles, however, exceed due to the size of the image.
The Kasanay Nino was held as one of the highlights of the Dinagyang Festival 2020, which has a theme "Perfect Vision: Celebrating the Ilonggo Spirit in Honor of Senior Sto. Niño." It was held in line with the Iloilo City Government's vision to take the Dinagyang to the "next level."
The main highlight of the festival will be held on January 25, the feast day of Señor Sto. Niño.
On January 25, a concelebrated mass will be held at the San Jose Parish at 6 a.m. before the start of the Dinagyang 2020 tribe 360-degree competition. (SunStar Philippines)