The Augustinian church at Cebú is especially famous as the location of a statue of the infant Jesus, the Santo Niño (the "Holy Infant.")
There is great devotion to the Santo Niño in the Philippines.
This statue was made of wood by Flemish artisans and brought to the island in the year 1521 by the first person to sail all the way around the earth, Ferdinand Magellan.
In 1543 an expedition led by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos reached the Philippines.
Villalobos gave the Philippines its present name in honour of the Spanish prince who later became King Philip II of Spain.
There were four members of the Order of Saint Augustine in this expedition.
They were on board the ships as chaplains, and not travelling in order to commence a mission.
The expedition set out from Mexico in 1564 with two secular priests and five Augustinian missionaries led by the famous navigator Andrés de Urdaneta O.S.A.
Legazpi reached Cebu on 27th April 1565 but was met by resistance from the natives of Cebu.
The Spanish ships fired their cannons, causing much damage to the town.
Under cover of bombardment, a detachment of troops landed in Cebú.
The natives, led by Rajah Tupaz, fled to the interior.
In one of the damaged houses, a Spanish soldier named Juan Camus found an image of the child Jesus.
The image was believed to be the same one presented by Magellan to the wife of Rajah Humabon in 1521.
