SANTO NINO FIESTA 2022 THANK YOU MESSAGE

A BIG THANK YOU!!! Daghang Salamat (Many Thanks)

January 16th, 1994, one Sunday 28 years ago, we held the 1st Fiesta celebration in honour of Senor Santo Nino. How the devotions started in New Zealand is documented on the tablet we printed which is on display at the shrine of Senor Santo Nino at St Benedict’s Church. The shrine was installed thru the support of the then Parish priest Mons Paul Farmer.


For the past 28 years, thousands of Auckland’s Catholic Filipino community and family of devotees gathered during the fiesta celebrations in honour of the Holy Child Jesus (Señor Santo Niño) on the third Sunday of January.
It is a moving, faith-filled event marking Señor Santo Niño’s blessing in several healings, cures and answered prayers. The devotion to the Christ-child seemed to have originated in Spain at the beginning of the 16th century and usually it emphasized the ideas of kingship. From Spain, the devotion spread to the rest of Europe. And from Europe – it spread to the other parts of the world.


After modest beginnings, the feast of Señor Santo Niño has grown to a major event in the Filipino-Catholic calendar, not only in the Philippines, but in most parts of the world including Auckland.
The Devotions to Santo Nino keeps growing from strength to strength. There have been many attestations about the miracles received from Señor Santo Niño,
although unrecorded. It is with Faith and Thanksgiving that the number of devotees who participate in the stewardship of the Church have increased.


A BIG THANK YOU!!!


YOUR SUPPORT CONTRIBUTED A LOT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE 9 DAYS NOVENA MASSES (Jan 6-14, 2022) & FIESTA CELEBRATION (Jan 15, 2022) AT ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL


Every Devotee and Supporter of Senor Santo Nino contributed a lot to the success of the 10 days celebration at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Our joint prayers made a big difference and God has granted us the grace to be able to celebrate without any drawback all thru the 10 days celebration. Glory and Praise to the Lord God Almighty.
Thank You DEVOTEES OF SENOR SANTO NINO IN NEW ZEALAND for holding on to your deep love and faithful devotion to SANTO NINO amid all the challenges that surrounded us and the whole world since 2019 due to this global pandemic. For rising above and beyond all the struggles, the trials, the hardships perhaps due to loss of jobs, shortened work hours and the many uncertainties surrounding us and the longing for our churches to open all the time and receiving Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.


On behalf of my co-organizers, we wish to thank:

  1. All the priests who celebrated masses for us during these 9 days novena-mass
  2. To Fr Mario Dorado- Filipino Chaplain
  3. The support of the Auckland Catholic Filipino Chaplaincy
  4. All our SPONSORS & DONORS
  5. ALL Pilgrim Groups, Filipino Devotional & Community Groups and Choir Groups coordinated by Chichi Abadingo, Sto Nino group’s Liturgy Coordinator &
    Administrator of Santo Nino website and social media platforms. We were all so blessed with your presence
  6. Ministers of Communion coordinated by Cherry Thelmo Fernandez.
  7. Ministers of Word, Rosary & Novena leaders coordinated by Chichi Abadingo
  8. Daily Commentators
  9. ACFC Altar Servers Coordinated by Jeremie de Guzman and monitored daily by Romil Fernandez
  10. Mass Collectors Coordinated Cathy Tomaquin & Charles Tomaquin
  11. All Santo Nino Area Coordinators who do Evangelization Program & Outreach work for Santo Nino
  12. ALL Families who brought Offertory gifts during the 9 days novena masses and Fiesta celebration
  13. To our Sacristans: CARMEN SHAW & MARIVIC MONTANO (they did a lot of work behind the scenes)
  14. Assisting in Altar Preparations: Greg & Aby Montano
  15. To Chris, who is assisting us in the church
  16. Tom, our Parking Warden
  17. Alex Andales, our sound technician who travelled from North Shore each night to help us. To Nathan Batucan assisting.
  18. For our church flower providers: Annie & Grace Paderanga, Joy & Boboy Caballero & Bebeth Cutten.
  19. Jess Enoncillo for our Sto Nino set-up.
  20. JC & Joy Caballero for our videography & resources
  21. Diana Basar for Photography
  22. Erwin & Marilyn Lackar & Mary Balondo for our Vaccine Pass Verifications as well as Darius & Elsa del Rosario on fiesta day and ALL Volunteers.
  23. Joy Caballero & RJ Yap for our QR code registrations & Scanning
  24. Jeanyveve Alfanta Aldave, Imelda Quizo & Yhanz Tongco for putting together our Sinulog Liturgical Dance on the First Day of the 9 days Novena-Masses and on the Fiesta Day. It was a very well executed dance of praise & worship.
  25. Jesy & Vina Valenzuela for our church upkeep all thru the 9-days in coordination with Jean Colle.
  26. For everyone who gave their TIME, TALENT & TREASURE.
  27. TO ALL VOLUNTEERS. You have been a big blessing to us devotees of Santo Nino. Without you, the world will be full of so many tasks do and no one to do them.
  28. Thank you FR CHRIS DENHAM – Administrator of St Patrick’s Cathedral and assisting priests: FR TONY KING-ARCHER; FR JAMES
  29. Thank You St Patrick’s Cathedral Staff: Syd Beguely, Rebecca Knibb & Anita Hudson.
  30. Welcome new Trustees and new Area Coordinators. Thank you for your commitment
  31. Police Officer Ding Capunitan and NZ Police for their presence
  32. Fiesta choir: El Shaddai with Vett Ramos as choir master, for their very beautiful singing
  33. Thank you to everyone who served in the Fiesta mass: Readers Queenie Jose, Christine Tomaquin, Commentator Ado Flores, St Joseph’s Takapuna’s Butch Rafols who guided the ACFC Altar Servers, Eva Ricacho who guided the children leading the Prayer of the Faithful.
    My sincere apologies if there is any name I may have missed out.
    Our devotional masses and events do not end with the fiesta celebration. Let us continue the devotions and pray to God the Father to give us the grace to be able to respond to the spiritual needs of our community to fulfil Christ’s call to make disciples of all nations and become a living testimony of the many blessings from our Beloved Señor Santo Niño.
    As migrants to New Zealand, let us continue to be steadfast in holding on to our faith especially when challenges and difficulties come our way.
    We thank the Catholic Diocese of Auckland for its continued support. We especially thank His Grace Bishop Pat Dunn who has given us his spiritual guidance and all -out support every year for the past 3289 years. We pray for Bishop Pat as he goes into retirement for personal needs.
    Thank you, Bishop Michael Gielen, for presiding at our Fiesta mass. Thank you for sharing your time with us. We pray for your continued support for the next 28 years, by the God’s grace.
    Our sincere apologies to those who could not be accommodated inside St Patrick’s Cathedral during the Santo Nino Fiesta Mass on 15 Jan 2022. The Cathedral was fully packed, and you had to stand outside during the Eucharistic Celebration. All our event schedules are posted in our Sinulog NZ Facebook or Santo Nino website or our Sinulog NZ YouTube channel. Please subscribe to them for future notices.
    For 500 years, the Filipino people have been dancing in praise and worship to the Holy Child, Señor Santo Niño de Cebú.
    The Pit Senyor music continues to play in our mind & keeps our heart burning with love for Jesus as we remember the sight of so many people, young and old, dancing and chanting, VIVA SENOR SANTO NINO. VIVA PIT SENYOR, offering their thanksgiving and petitions!!!
    May that memory drive us to always praise and worship the Lord in everything.
    Faith plays a big part in our continued devotions to Senyor Santo Nino. May we put our total trust and confidence in Him like little Children.
    Thank you, Señor Santo Niño, for your for your bountiful blessings,
    VIVA SENOR SANTO NINO!!! PIT SENOR!!!

    Note: On May 1, 2022, we will have our Santo Nino @500 and Kaplag celebration at EventFindA Stadium (formerly North Shore Events Centre). Please keep an eye on updates at our social media platforms: Sinulog in New Zealand Facebook; Sinulog NZ YouTube Channel and Santo Nino website:www.santo-nino.org
    Contact us for more details: Oscar & Miriam Batucan Snr facebook page or send us a message.