Chapter 14
The Child in the Cradle
Cebu
On 28 April 1565, in a house in the burned town of Cebu, one of Legazpi’s men found a small image of the Christ Child in a pine cradle: the Santo Niño that Magellan had given to the queen of Cebu in 1521. Legazpi made 28 April a feast day, and the image is kept today in the Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu City.
Who found the Santo Niño in 1565?
The official record of the find names a sailor, Juan de Camus, who showed it first to the chief pilot, Esteban Rodríguez. Rodríguez’s own account calls the finder “a sailor named Mermeo”, and Legazpi’s letter says only that it was “one of the soldiers”.
28 April 1565
In one of the houses that has not burned, one of Legazpi’s men finds something no one expects. Legazpi called the house large and well built; the chief pilot called it a wretched little house.
It is “a child Jesus like those of Flanders, in its little pine cradle and its little loose shirt, such as come from those parts, and a little velvet hat, like those of Flanders—and all so well preserved that only the little cross, which is generally upon the globe that he holds in his hands, was missing.” The chief pilot noticed that “the tip of its nose was rubbed off somewhat, and the skin was coming off the face.”
Someone has looked after it. Legazpi wrote that it was kept in its cradle, and that “many flowers were found before it, no one knows for what object or purpose.”
28 April 1565
The image is brought to Legazpi, and when he sees it he falls to his knees. He takes it in his hands, kisses its feet, and prays aloud, asking God to guide him “so that all that we do here may be to thy glory and honor.”
He orders that it be placed in the first church they build, and that the church be called the Name of Jesus, *Nombre de Jesús*. To the Spaniards it is a sign that God has been waiting for them here. The official account says it gave “great happiness and inspiration to all to see such an auspicious beginning.”
Who found it? The official record, drawn up by the notary, names a sailor called Juan de Camus. Esteban Rodríguez, the chief pilot, wrote that it was found by “a sailor named Mermeo.” Legazpi says only “one of the soldiers.”