MIRACLES ATTRIBUTED TO THE SANTO NINO
OF TERNATE
(AND SOME ANECDOTES)
By Dr. Evangelino Z. Nigoza
President, Cavite West Point
College
The people of Ternate implicitly
believed in the many miracles attributed to their Holy Child. Among this maybe
mentioned: the Santo Nino fought against the Moro pirates and the sinking of
their pangkos (vintas) at the mouth of the Maragondon River, causing a spring,
of water to gush forth simply by pressing his cane into the rock in Kaypopong,
a sitio adjacent to Daraloy; the Santo Nino when leaving the house where he is
kept and taking a walk, as evidenced by the caretaker, discovering grains of
tingloy when approaching a Chinese in Rosario, Cavite asking him lumber and
galvanized iron sheets for the repair of the year as E,V, said, “que
disencrease todos los anos un poco.”
According to E.V., the Mardicas
served as a sort of wall to protect the people of Maragondon from the attacks
of the Moro pirates, and in return for their services their Santo Nino was
taken away from them.
There are other miracles Santo
Nino had done for the people of Ternate and for who are devoted those who
regularly frequented the place to venerate the image.
It is believed by many people of
Ternate that they will be celebrating the town fiesta every January 5 and 6 of
the year, to no surprise, they are able to earn something for their
preparation. Seemingly they can easily find means for their foods and other
needs for the celebration. It is likely some blessings come to them because of
their devotion to the Santo Nino.
A blind woman used to go to the
church almost every day to kiss the image of Santo Nino. She was always
accompanied by her younger son to go up to the main alter. After kissing the
image, she used to rub her fingers to her eyes. She did not cease doing it
until eventually she was able to see clearly. What is nice also after miracle
is that the woman became healer.
In another story, there was a man
who was already so despair because he succumbed to a severe decease that none
of the many physicians he had consulted with could detect his sickness. In the
first place, he never believed with quack doctors or with any healer, but many
of his sympathizers insisted and convinced him well to see anyone. So upon the
advice of the “albularyo”, he went to a church and stood at the gate, praying
fervently to Santo Nino. It was like a bubble in space, thus sickness was
instantly healed.
There was also a woman saying
that she never believed with the miracle of Santo Nino unless the image can
prove it for itself because, according to this woman, the image has two eyes
but can’t see. It has two ears but can’t hear; it has two feet but can’t walk;
and the entire body can’t move at all. The woman coincidentally gave birth to a
baby girl who looked like the image of Santo Nino and it so happened the child
until she reached the age of nine, was totally deaf, mute, can’t walk and can’t
talk.
A man who is already in the
mid-fifties never enters the church. He said he doesn’t think of it since he
also prays to Santo Nino even at home. It doesn’t matter to go to the church to
offer prayers. Anywhere can do, according to him, one Sunday morning, he found
himself inside the church to hear the mass. While there, unexpectedly, he
shouted in the wilderness, saying “Santo Nino, you guide me! I need you, Santo
Nino!” Everybody in the church was so astonished with his behaviour and
gesture. Almost the whole period of the mass, he was shouting, and praying
until after the mass, he walked out of the church usually, and now this man
helps healing the sick.
In another dream of the author
(Dr. Evangelino Z. Nigoza), Senor Santo Nino was seen likely to stumble from
where he was standing. The author quickly approached Nino to rescue him from
that condition. Nino was about to whisper something to the author when all of a
sudden the personal driver of the author shouted and asks what is Nino
whispering. In less than two weeks, it so happen the sister of the author who
was very active in the church, got stroke and was paralyzed. Someone told the
author that was perhaps the “message” of Santo Nino.
In 1965, the parish priest
invited the author to come inside the convent to see the footprint of Santo
Nino on top of the glass casket placed at a private room. The author remembers
that one time the priest told him that miracles are not true. He said that it
is hard to believe with what others say about miracles but upon seeing those
footprints, his devotion to Santo Nino deepens.
In a big razed near the town
plaza in year 2000 after the feast day of Santo Nino, miracurously, the house
of Eduvihes, Tiyang Beheng to everybody, was not gutted despite this is made of
“buho” and bamboos for over 13 years already, and only a foot away from the
house where the fire started. Tiyang Beheng at her age of 80, almost like a fly
flying swiftly from her house to the nearly church and prayed hard to Santo
Nino then she came to know that her house survived but her neighbors’ get
burned from that fire. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised that she was
already at her home, crying and thanking Nino for her survival.
For many times already, Santo
Nino had visited a certain individual or family from such places. Nino visited
them in the appearance of a little boy, telling them to go to Ternate and visit
the church. These people, when they get inside the church, are surprised that
the image of Santo Nino at the altar is the same boy who talked to them.
Source: (With Permission)
Page 42-44
Bahra II (Ternate Book 2)
Lenguaje, Arte y Literatura
(Language, Arts and Literature)
By Dr. Evangelino Z. Nigoza
President, Cavite West Point
College
Member, Cavite Historical Society
Member, Ternate Historical
Society
2017
Book Launched on November 20,
2016
To know more about the History of
the town of Ternate, to learn the Ternateno Chavacano dialect, the Arts and
Literature of the Ternatenos, I suggest you may buy a copy of the book BAHRA
(Book 2) by Dr. Evangelino Z. Nigoza. It is available at the Cavite West Point
College in Ternate, Cavite.
The front cover
The back cover
Sir Enjoe's simple message (to me)
