MAGELLAN’S CROSS #270110
MAGELLAN’S CROSS is a Christian cross
planted by Portuguese, and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan
upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on March 31, 1521. This cross is housed in a chapel next to the
Basilica Minore del Santo Niňo on Magallanes Street (Magallanes being the
Spanish name of Magellan), just in front of the city center of Cebu City. A sign below the cross describes the original
cross is encased inside the wooden cross that is found in the center of the
chapel. This is to protect the original
cross from the people who chipped away parts of the cross fro souvenir purposes
or in the belief that cross possesses miraculous powers. Some people, however, believe that the
original cross had been destroyed or had disappeared after Magellan’s death,
and the cross is a replica that was planted there by the Spaniards after they
successfully colonized the Philippines.
