Tickets and Opening Hours

The Basilica publishes one set of gate hours for every day of the week. The gate opens at 4:00 AM and closes at 9:00 PM, Monday to Sunday. These are the hours the Basilica gives for the complex; it does not list separate hours for the church interior. Entry to the church itself is free.

The Santo Niño Museum keeps its own schedule: it is open daily from 8:00 to 11:45 AM and from 1:00 to 4:45 PM, closing over lunch. The Basilica publishes no admission fee for the museum, so ask at the entrance when you arrive.

This is a working church, so dress modestly and keep noise down while Mass is under way.

• Basilica gate hours
  • The gate opens at 4:00 AM and closes at 9:00 PM every day, Monday to Sunday.
• Church entry fee
  • Entry to the basilica church is free, with no ticket needed to go inside.
• Santo Niño Museum hours
  • The museum is open daily from 8:00 to 11:45 AM and again from 1:00 to 4:45 PM.
• Museum admission
  • The Basilica does not publish a museum fee, so confirm at the door.
• Address
  • The address is Osmeña Boulevard corner P. Burgos Street, Cebu City 6000, with the main entrance on Osmeña Boulevard.

History of the Santo Niño Basilica

Father Andrés de Urdaneta founded the church and convent of the Santo Niño on April 28, 1565. That was the day the Legazpi-Urdaneta expedition reached Cebu. A sailor named Juan Camus found the Santo Niño statuette in a burned house in the abandoned town.

The statuette had arrived with Magellan's expedition in 1521 and had been given to the Queen of Cebu at her baptism. The church that grew up around it is today the Augustinian shrine of the Santo Niño de Cebu.

The present stone church was built between 1735 and 1740 in a blend of Earthquake Baroque, Muslim, Romanesque and Neoclassical styles. Its cruciform church and convent measure about 62 meters long.

Pope Paul VI raised the church to a minor basilica on April 1, 1965. It became a National Historical Landmark in 1973 and a National Cultural Treasure on April 14, 2021. The 2013 Bohol earthquake destroyed most of the belfry and façade. The church reopened on December 24, 2014, and the bell tower was fully restored in October 2016.

What to See Inside the Basilica Complex

The original Santo Niño image is displayed in a bullet-proof glass case in the marble Santo Niño Chapel. The chapel was built in 1975 so that the public could venerate the image up close.

The original no longer leaves the Basilica for processions. Replicas have taken over that role since 1993, which means the processions you may see on festival days do not carry the original.

Next, the Santo Niño Museum is in the basement of the Santo Niño Pilgrim Center, completed in 1995. Father Ambrosio Galindez founded the museum in 1965, and it shows church documents, vestments, relics, statues and offerings to the Santo Niño.

Just outside the Basilica gate, Magellan's Cross stands in its own gazebo. The two sites belong to the same complex, so you can see both on one visit.

• Santo Niño Chapel
  • The marble chapel from 1975 holds the original image behind bullet-proof glass for public veneration.
• Santo Niño Museum
  • Displays include church documents, vestments, relics, statues and offerings, in the Pilgrim Center basement.
• Restored bell tower
  • The bell tower was fully restored in October 2016 after damage from the 2013 earthquake.

Mass and Confession Times at the Basilica

The Basilica's Mass and Confession Schedules page lists services in Cebuano and English. Some Masses are also streamed on Facebook Live.

Fridays are novena days and have the fullest schedule, with 13 Masses between 5:00 AM and 7:30 PM: 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 AM, 4:30 and 7:30 PM in Cebuano; 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 AM, 12:00 noon, 5:30 and 6:30 PM in English; and 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM in Cebuano with Facebook Live. On the first Friday there is also a Holy Hour at 8:30 PM.

Sundays have ten Masses between 5:30 AM and 7:00 PM. The schedule page does not list Saturday Masses separately. If you want quieter time at the image, a day other than Friday or Sunday has fewer services, and the gate stays open until 9:00 PM.

• Weekday Masses
  • Masses are at 6:00 AM (Cebuano), 7:00 and 8:00 AM (English, the 8:00 on Facebook Live), 12:15 PM (Cebuano) and 5:30 PM (English).
• Sunday Masses
  • Morning Masses are at 5:30 and 7:00 AM (Cebuano), 8:30 AM (English), 10:00 AM (Cebuano) and 11:30 AM (English). Afternoon and evening Masses are at 1:00, 2:30 and 4:00 PM (Cebuano) and 5:30 and 7:00 PM (English).
• Confessions, Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday
  • Confessions are heard from 4:00 PM to 5:20 PM on these days.
• Confessions on Fridays
  • Confessions are heard from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and again from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Timing

The Basilica lists Fiesta Señor 2027 for January 7 to 17 and again on January 22, 2027. The Santo Niño feast and the Sinulog fall on the third Sunday of January, which is January 17 in 2027.

The fiesta dates bring extra devotional activity to the Basilica on top of its regular schedule. Visitors who mainly want the chapel and museum may prefer a day outside that window. Those who want the festival atmosphere should plan around the January dates.

Getting There

The complex fills the block bounded by Osmeña Boulevard, D. Jakosalem Street, P. Burgos Street and Plaza Sugbo. The main entrance is on Osmeña Boulevard in downtown Cebu City.

Taxis and ride-hailing cars can drop you along Osmeña Boulevard. Downtown-bound jeepneys pass within a short walk of the entrance.

Inside the complex, the Santo Niño Museum is in the basement of the Santo Niño Pilgrim Center, at the Osmeña Boulevard corner of P. Burgos Street. Magellan's Cross is a few steps away on foot, in its gazebo just outside the Basilica gate.

Once you finish at the Basilica, Museo Sugbo is another museum on Cebu's past. For a different tradition, the Cebu Taoist Temple is another stop in the city.