Pope Francis blessed a pilgrim image of the Santo Niño de Cebu in the Vatican on February 16.
The Archdiocese of Cebu said the image was brought by Monsignor Jan Thomas Limchua, a Cebuano priest, to Rome.
The archdiocese shared the photos of the occasion from the Facebook page of Monsignor Limchua, on Saturday, February 20.
In a social media post, CBCP News reported the Cebu-crafted image of the child Jesus will remain with Monsignor Limchua who will endorse it to the Bisaya community in Rome.
Monsignor Limchua has been serving at the Section for the Relations with States of the Secretariat of the State of the Holy See.
In October 2020, the priest was appointed as papal chaplain.
Monsignor Limchua started in the diplomatic service in September 2014 and served at the Apostolic Nunciature in Benin and Togo in West Africa and Egypt.
He finished his Theological studies at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain, and his doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.
He was ordained priest in the Archdiocese of Cebu in 2010 and underwent diplomatic formation at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in the Vatican.
