Formerly known as the San Agustin Church, the Santo Niño Basilica houses the Philippines' oldest religious relic: the Santo Niño.
The Santo Niño is a gem-festooned statue of the holy infant Jesus, given by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana on the occasion of her baptism in 1521.
Forty-four years later, when a large fire swept Cebu city, the statue miraculously survived and was rediscovered undamaged. A church was built on the spot where the relic was found. This church -- and two later ones built in the same location -- were destroyed by fire, and the present basilica was built in 1740.
