Legends of the Sto. Niño de Cebu (Part 9)

Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada originally wrote this in Cebuano, it was translated into English by Martin Abellana. It was published in 1965. It was Consuelo Enriquez-Uy, a descendant of the Dela Calzada, who donated copies of the book to the Cebu City Library.

Numerous entries on the legends of the Sto. Niño de Cebu are contained in the book. CEBUpedia is running a series of selected stories in the book, with the hope that the Cebu City government, in coordination with the family of Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada, will reproduce the book so it can be distributed to the public schools in Cebu City.

“A corporal acted as desk sergeant, Victoriano as oficial de ronda, while the six soldiers were assigned to guard the different parts of the fort. At 12 o’clock midnight. Sergeant Pedro Perez returned to the fort after visiting the churches. He was on his way to his own quarters when his attention was riveted to what he saw.

“There, inside the turret where the guards rest, he saw Victoriano kneeling down immobile facing San Agustin Church while from his lips, Sergeant Pedro Perez heard the words distinctly, came out the words, ‘Thy will be done.’ The sergeant was surprised for Victoriano could not distinctly speak and there was nobody to whom Victoriano could talk to.

“Sergeant Pedro Perez shook the body of Victoriano to awaken him. Victoriano remained unmoved, his eyes closed but his lips continued to mumble. For fear that he might fall from the turret, the sergeant called soldiers to move Victoriano to a safer place. The soldiers were able to move the seemingly frozen body of Victoriano but his legs remained bent as though he was still kneeling. They tried to straighten his legs but they could not. Morning came but the position of Victoriano remained the same.

“The medical officer was called and also the chaplain. The whole fort was astir. Even the general and other officers were attracted. They also wanted to see for themselves what actually happened to Victoriano. Everybody was amazed at what they saw. Victoriano was not dead for he was breathing. But why was his body stiff and frozen? What, in heavens name, happened to him? (To be continued)