Magellan's Cross Pavilion is a stone kiosk in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

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. The structure is situated on Plaza Sugbo beside the Basilica del Santo Niño. It houses a

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

that was planted by explorers of the Spanish expedition of the first

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

of the world, led by Ferdinand Magellan, upon arriving in

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

in the

on April 21, 1521. Along with the Basilica del Santo Niño's church and convent buildings, the pavilion is a declared National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines.

Background

Pavilion

The Magellan's Cross Pavilion which houses the tindalo cross was built sometime in the 1834 under Spanish colonial rule. The structure is octagonal

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

made of coral stone. The pavilion and the tindalo cross itself sustained cracks due to the 2013 Bohol earthquake. The original cross was also found to have deteriorated due to termites in 2015. The pavilion was closed for renovations and was reopened in March 2016. On the ceiling of the pavilion's interior, is a mural depicting the baptism of Rajah Humabon and his household by Fr. Pedro Valderrama and the planting of a wooden cross by Ferdinand Magellan. The artwork was done by Jess Roa and Serry M. Josol.

Cross

The Magellan's Cross refers to the original wooden cross planted by explorers of the Spanish expedition of the first

of the world, led by Ferdinand Magellan, upon arriving in

Cebu Island Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

in the

on April 21, 1521. The original cross was encased inside another wooden cross made of tindalo wood in 1835. This is to protect the original cross from people who chipped away parts of the cross who believe that the cross possesses miraculous powers. The cross was named as the "2021 Jubilee Cross" as part of the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines.

Designation

The pavilion along with the Basilica del Santo Niño Church and Convent were collectively declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines on April 14, 2021.

References

{{Cebu City Catholic Church in the Philippines History of the Philippines (1565–1898) Landmarks in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Cebu City Tourist attractions in Cebu City Memorial crosses 1834 establishments in the Philippines Buildings and structures completed in 1834 19th-century architecture in the Philippines