Since Pandacan at that time was still part of the parish of Sampaloc, the elders of Pandacan had the image brought to Sampaloc Church.
After some time, however, the image inexplicably disappeared from Sampaloc only to be found in the same place where it had been first seen in Pandacan. When it was brought back to Sampaloc church, it disappeared the second time only to be found on the very same spot where it was originally discovered.
Believing that the miraculous image wanted a home in Pandacan, the elders of the barrio, together with the Franciscan Priests of Sampaloc, decided to build a Visita to enshrine the image. The Visita was constructed on the very spot where the Holy image was found.
Sto Niño of the Well
The Visita was constructed on the exact spot where the Miraculous Image of Sto Niño was found. The carabao wallow which is a natural spring is converted into a well. From then on, miraculous healing from the water of the well started to spread, including that of a woman suffering from “sayaw ni san vitores” (a disease that makes the body dance non stop-presumably Parkingsons’ Disease), who came to do the Novena, and upon her completion, bathed on May 9, 1837.
Doña Josefa Andrade was miraculously healed from her sickness after her novenario and taking a bath from the water from the well. She eventually sponsored the printing of the Novenario that we now use.
In 1896, the Spanish authorities learned that Pandacan was the meeting place of the revolutionaries.
Pandacan was decreed to be ruled under the “Juez de Cuchillo,” meaning the town would
be bombed. When the cannons were brought in Nagtahan and aimed at the church, a small child was seen on top of the cannon. The commander, dreadfully struck, suspended the almost certain annihilation of the parishioners.
In 1911, Fr. Silvino Manalo placed the Santo Niño at the church tower’s window facing the
maddening fire approaching Pandacan. The wind changed its course and Pandacan was
saved from a great conflagration.
On December 18, 1941, the late parish priest Rev. Fr. Teodoro Francisco, fearing the
possible explosion of Pandacan due to the oil tanks and depot ignited by the United States
Army Forces in the Far East (USSAFE) before retreating to Bataan, tried to secure the
image of Santo Niño but it could not be removed from its pedestal. The feared explosion did
not happen and Pandacan was once again spared.
Tercentenary
On November 23, 2012, the Parish of Sto Niño de Pandacan joyfully Celebrated the 300th founding Anniversary.
Then Manila Auxiliary Bishop, Broderick S. Pabillo, D.D. opened the Jubilee door of Sto Niño de
Pandacan.
At the strike of 10 in the evening the Panda-Candles were lit and in unison with all
Pandaqueño joining the ceremony around the globe prayed the Tercentennial Prayer
The Great Tragedies of 2020
Covid 19
On March 14, 2020, the City of Manila was placed under the Enhanced Community Quarantine, due to the widespread of Covid 19. Eventually the whole Philippine island was in Lockdown from March 16 to May 31.
All Masses in Pandacan shifted to online together with all the Catholic Churches around the World. The daily exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is done with the strictest implementation of health protocols.
The Great Fire
While the world is engulfed by the Corona Virus Pandemic, a great fire occurred on July 10 2020, starting at the Chapel Convent where the beloved Image is enshrined. The flame spread all over reducing the convent and the church into ashes.
On July 12, then Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Sanny C. De Claro, announced in the mass the devastating news of losing in the tragic fire the revered image of Sto Niño de Pandacan.
In the course of the ongoing tragedy, the ciborium that is kept in the convent chapel is miraculously found unscathed under the ashes.
Together with the ciborium of the main altar, the Blessed Sacrament was safely transferred to San Fernando de Dilao parish and Caritas Manila Chapel. Bangon Pandacan
Bangon Pandacan
Through the kindness and initiatives of the Mother Church, the Manila Cathedral.
The work for the new image of Santo Niño de Pandacan was initiated. The new image was carved by Maestro
Joseph Magcalas of Pampanga from an old wooden beam of the convent (1760).
On its breast, lies a fragment of the original image, being kept by the recamadero. The fragment is from the left hand of the
A year after the devastating fire; on July 10, 2021, His Eminence Jose Cardinal Advincula blessed and lowered the time capsule at the site of the soon to rise, New Church, of Sto Niño de Pandacan.
On January 20, 2023, The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila. (RCAM) approved the petition of the current Parish Priest, Andy Ortega Lim, of renaming the Parish in Pandacan Manila, from Sto Niño Parish,