Devotees in Ireland pull the processional cart of the Child Jesus during the religious procession in honour of Santo Niño. Photo by Dax Baldestamon, Santo Niño Ireland
15 January 2020 LONDON—Filipinos in the UK and Ireland will celebrate the Feast of Santo Niño and revel in the Sinulog Festival this January 2020. The celebrations, which will mostly take place on 19 January, will be led by different Filipino community organisations together with a number of parishes.
The Feast of Santo Niño is one of the largest and most vibrant religious and cultural celebrations in the Philippines originating in Cebu. In the Philippines, the feast is celebrated every third Sunday of January and is marked by votive events such as a novena mass, and street and fluvial processions that draw droves of Santo Niño devotees ; as well as the Sinulog Festival, a dance ritual in honour of the Child Jesus.
Read the history of the Feast of Santo Niño here.
"Over the years, the Feast of Santo Niño in the UK and Ireland has brought together and strengthened the sense of community among thousands of Filipinos who are devotees of the Child Jesus," said Ambassador Antonio M. Lagdameo.
This year’s celebration marks the 22nd year since the Feast of Santo Niño was first celebrated in the UK, and the 21st since it was first celebrated in Ireland. The Feast of Santo Niño was brought to the UK in the 1990s by Filipino volunteers at the Church of Our Lady of Victories in London. It eventually spread to Ireland upon the reassignment of the church’s parish priest to Dublin. Since then, the Feast of Santo Niño has become an annual celebration, gathering thousands of Santo Niño devotees all over the UK and Ireland.
"I believe there is a need to celebrate our faith," said Marlou Patindol, the Head Coordinator of Santo Niño Ireland in the community’s commemorative souvenir programme. " No matter where in the Philippines one comes from, no matter what dialect one was taught as a child, no matter what state in life one is in right now, there is a need to show that we, Filipinos, can be together in expressing our gratitude and faith as one."
Below is a guide for all those who wish to take part in one of the biggest Philippine religious and cultural festivals in the UK and Ireland:
United Kingdom
| Date / Time | Address | Organizer |
|
Saturday 18 January 2020 2:30 p.m. |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Southwark Diocese London SE1 7HY |
Filipino Catholic Community (Archdiocese of Southwark) |
|
Sunday 19 January 2020 10:00 a.m. |
Parish Hall This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 171 Ligoniel Road Belfast BT14 8DP |
St. Vincent de Paul Parish |
|
Sunday 19 January 2020 2:00 p.m. |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Clergy House, 16 Abingdon Road London W8 6AF |
Church of Our Lady of Victories |
|
Sunday 19 January 2020 3:00 p.m. |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Quex Road, Kilburn London NW6 4PS |
Filipino Community in Harmony of Action, Mobility and Prayer (FILCHAMP)
Kapatirang Pinoy sa Mill Hill (KapaMillHill)
Brent Filipino Catholic Community, Stonebridge
Filipino Parishioners of St. Joseph Parish, Wembley |
|
Sunday 19 January 2020 4:00 p.m. |
St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church Tooting, London SW17 9PG |
St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church |
|
Sunday 26 January 2020 2:00 p.m. |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 41 Kensington Church St, Kensington London W8 4BB |
Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Simon Stock |
Ireland
| Date / Time | Address | Organizer |
|
Sunday 19 January 2020 2:30 p.m. |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Berkeley Road, Dublin 7 |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |