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Roman Catholicism in the Philippines
The overriding legacy of the Spanish occupation in the Philippines is Roman Catholicism. This is the only staunchly Christian country in this part of Southeast Asia and it's had a major influence on the culture.
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Through all the trials and tribulations in Philippine history, and in the daily lives of Filipinos, the church has been one constant. In the modern era it has remained centre stage, sustaining the population after the Mount Pinatubo eruption and inciting opposition to the Marcos regime. Everyone attends Mass on a Sunday morning and there's a fervet show of faith during all Christian festivals.
Statues have become beacons of hope and several have been imbued with miraculous powers. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is a major component in Catholics worship but Santo Niño, the Christ Child, is specifically Filipino. Santo Niño was the lucky emblem given to Magellan by the Queen of Spain to protect him during his journey of discovery.
When he landed in the Philippines, Magellan gifted the statue to the Cebuanos (inhabitants of Cebu) following the first Mass under the wooden cross he erected in 1521, and it was found again by Legazpi almost 50 years later lying miraculously undamaged in a burnt-out nipa hut after a battle between the Cebuanos and the Spanish. Today, the statue is dressed in gem-encrusted garments in its altar at the Basilica Minore in Cebu City.
Santo Niño was the patron saint of the Philippines but has recently been replaced by his mother in the guise of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Vatican insists that patron saint status is reserved for humans who have transcended into grace, where the Christ Child lived a life in grace and was therefore ineligible. However, the Vatican missive doesn't stop effigies of the statue from being sold outside all the major churches in the country, from dashboard size for jeepney drivers to double actual size and larger.
For all the influence that the Catholic Church exerts in the Philippines, one thing you'll notice is how care-worn many of the buildings are, with ceilings damaged by water ingress and mould on the walls. Any shiny new churches you see on your travels are sure to belong to the Filipino Independent Church or Iglesia ni Cristo, a church based on Unitarianism and founded by Felix Manalo in 1914 with himself as God's prophet.