Cebu City Minor Basilica Santo Nino A line up of worshippers light prayer candles, below the stand of candles is the red melted wax from many previous prayers. Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines A girls hand places a newly lit red prayer candle back into its holder. Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines People light red prayer candles outside the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines A bank of large round red prayer candles are lit by devotees for prayer. Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines Children gather as colourful balloons of fish, animals and cartoon characters are sold outside the Minor Basilica of the Santo Nino church. Cebu City, Philippines Colourful balloons of fish, animals and cartoon characters are sold outside the Minor Basilica of the Santo Nino church. Cebu City, Philippines The Santo Nino de Cebu (Holy Child of Cebu) is a celebrated Roman Catholic statue of the Child Jesus venerated by Filipino Roman Catholics. Claiming to be the oldest religious image in the Philippines, the statue was originally donated by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. The statue is clothed in expensive textile robes and a gold crown, mostly donated from devotees in the Philippines and abroad, it is one of the most recognizable cultural images in the Philippines. The statue is permanently housed under bulletproof glass in the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines The Minor Basilica of the Santo Nino or Basilica Minore del Santo Nino 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 was found by Spanish explorers in 1565 preserved in a burned wooden box which was left behind during the 1521 Magellan expedition. Cebu City, Philippines A baby in the Church looks back at the camera. Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines A colourful stained glass window in the Minor Basilica of the Santo Nino Church. Cebu City, Philippines Adam and Eve plus other Christian paintings on the ceiling of the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines Adam and Eve painting on the ceiling of the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines The Church of Santo Nino del Cebu was founded by an Augustinian priest, Andres de Urdaneta on April 28, 1565. Cebu City, Philippines The bell tower of the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church, Cebu City, Philippines Two small children run across an open pavement area towards a chapel with the Santo Nino standing on top. Cebu City, Philippines Historical information sign of the Church and Convent of Santo Nino. Cebu City, Philippines