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Pope Francis has received a replica of the image of Santo Niño de Cebu, the oldest Christian relic in the Philippines gifted by Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

Monsignor Jan Thomas Limchua, a Cebu native and a member of the papal household in Vatican City, delivered the image of Santo Niño de Cebu to his holiness.

During his visit to the Philippines in 2015, Pope Francis endorsed the image and called the Santo Niño "protector" of the Philippines in his final mass at Rizal Park.

The image of Santo Niño de Cebu was one of the three gifts that Rajah Humabon, then-ruler of Cebu, and Hara Humamay received from Ferdinand Magellan as part of their baptism.

In April 1965, Pope Paul VI granted a canonical coronation of the statue. A few days later, Pope Paul VI raised the shrine of Santo Niño de Cebu, the Santo Niño Basilica, to the status of Minor Basilica.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II gave his papal endorsement for the image of Santo Niño in his Mass for Families in Cebu.

In April this year, as part of the celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu, commonly known as Santo Niño Basilica, and the image of Santo Niño de Cebu will be declared as National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The feast of Santo Nino de Cebu is celebrated every January. The celebration starts with a procession where the replica image of Santo Niño de Cebu is paraded around town, followed by the novena masses for nine days.

The celebration ends with the grand Sinulog Festival.

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