Some 800,000 devotees join fluvial parade for Cebu’s Sinulog Festival

Hundreds of thousands of devotees joined the religious fluvial procession from Mandaue City bringing the images of the Sto. Niño and the Virgen of Guadalupe back to Cebu City to kick off the day's festivities for the annual Sinulog Festival.

Some 800,000 people participated in the fluvial parade. Cebu City Police director Sr. Supt. Joel Doria was also quoted as saying that the procession was generally peaceful.

GMA News Cebu reported that the fluvial procession started right after the 3 a.m. Mass at the St. Joseph national shrine in Mandaue City.

After the Mass, thousands of devotees accompanied the images to the Ouano Wharf where over a hundred sea vessels, including a galleon that was to take the images to Cebu, were waiting.

The fluvial procession started past 6 a.m. taking the Mactan-Cebu channel en route to Pier Uno in Cebu. The galleon bearing the images of the Sto. Niño and the Virgen of Guadalupe led the procession, the report said.

Also, thousands of devotees filled the sea walls along the Mactan-Cebu channel waiting for the fluvial parade to pass.

At the end of the journey, the images were brought to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu.

Sinulog is a religious festival which takes place every 3rd Sunday of January in honor of Cebu's Patron Santo Niño (child Jesus). The Sinulog Grand Parade hightlights the day-long festivities.   —LBG, GMA News