Senior Citizens' Park Chapel

Senior Citizens' Park Chapel
The chapel in 2022
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Patron	Santo Niño de Cebú
Year consecrated	2022
Status	Chapel
Location
Location	Senior Citizens' Park, Carbon Market, Cebu City
Country	Philippines
Administration	Archdiocese of Cebu
Geographic coordinates	10°17′32″N 123°54′06″E
Architecture
General contractor	Cebu2World
Groundbreaking	2021
Completed	2022
Specifications
Capacity	150
Interior area	300 m^2 (3,200 sq ft)
Site area	3,704 m^2 (39,870 sq ft)
Monument(s)	1

The Senior Citizens' Park Chapel (Señor Santo Niño Chapel), also known simply as the Santo Niño Chapel, is Roman Catholic chapel at the Senior Citizens' Park in Cebu City, Philippines.

Background

The whole Senior Citizens' Park covers an area of 3,704 square meters (39,870 sq ft).^[1] It has a chapel, known as the Senior Citizens' Park Chapel (also known as the Señor Santo Niño Chapel or the Santo Niño Chapel), as its main feature.^[2][3] The chapel opened on April 17, 2022, on Easter Sunday. It was blessed by Cebu Archbishop José S. Palma on the same day.^[3]

The chapel itself covers an area of 300 square meters (3,200 sq ft)^[2] and can accommodate 150 worshippers.^[4] The facade was inspired from the Santo Niño image's crown^[5] and the wavy structure of Terminal 2 of Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA).^[2]

The religious facility is topped by a 9.14 m (30.0 ft) tall statue of the Santo Niño (Child Jesus), which is a bigger and close replica of the image displayed at the MCIA.^[2]

The construction of the Santo Niño Chapel is part of a bigger Carbon District modernization project by the Cebu City government and private firm Megawide.^[2][4] The structure was developed by Megawide subsidiary Cebu2World (C2W).^[1] Construction began in mid-2021, and the entire Santo Niño sculpture was transported for assembly from Manila to Cebu City on December 14, 2021. Installation of the sculpture was intended to take place prior to the New Year's Day of 2022 but was delayed due to the onslaught of Typhoon Rai (Odette) two days after the arrival of the statue in Cebu.^[2] The statue would be installed by February 2022.^[6]

References

1. Lorenciana, Carlo (April 18, 2022). "Sto. Niño Chapel, new landmark in Cebu City". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
2. "Sto. Niño Chapel: A story of Cebuanos' firm faith and hope". Cebu Daily News. Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 16, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
3. "Cebu City's newest attraction: 30-foot Sto. Niño". Cebu Daily News. Philippine Daily Inquirer. April 17, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
4. Asto, Joy Celine (February 28, 2022). "Grand Sto. Niño Installation Crowns Cebu City's Senior Citizen's Park". BluPrint. One Mega Group Inc. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
5. Magsumbol, Caecent No-ot (April 18, 2022). "Sto. Niño Chapel at Senior Citizens' Park now open to public". The Freeman. The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
6. Utzurrum, Chinggay (February 23, 2022). "Hail to the towering Sto. Niño at the park". Sunstar. Retrieved November 1, 2022.