Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, will join the Filipino-American community on Saturday, July 20, for the 15th anniversary of the enthronement of the Santo Nino de Cebu at St. Joseph Church, 103 Richard Pryor Place, in Peoria.

He will preside at the 5:30 p.m. Mass and bless all Santo Nino icons. Following the liturgy there will be a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, the Santo Nino de Cebu and all Infant Jesus icons, concluding with Benediction.

The celebration continues in the parish hall with a potluck and cultural dancing to honor the Infant Jesus.

To help people prepare, a novena is planned from Thursday, July 11, to Friday, July 19, in the Father Clair Bourdereaux, OFM Hall of Sacred Heart Church, 504 Fulton, in Peoria. The prayers will start at 6 p.m. each day.

Veneration of the Infant Jesus of Cebu dates back to the Christianization of the Philippines. Believed to be a baptismal gift from Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana, the Santo Nino statue had been buried in a Spanish chest in the fighting that eventually led to Magellan’s death at the hands of a chieftain, Lapu-Lapu, who did not want his people to be converted to Christ.

The statue was recovered during an expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1564 and taken to the Augustinian church in Cebu, the oldest city in the Philippines. It is now enthroned in a basilica in that city.

January is the Santo Nino festival month, with the third Sunday being the traditional celebration date. Many Filipinos keep their own statues at home, turning the Infant Jesus toward the door to greet visitors.