Magellan's Cross

Posted by Chuckster (Mandaluyong, Philippines) on 7 December 2008 in Art & Design.

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 April 21, 1521.

This cross is housed in a small chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street (Magallanes being the Spanish name of Magellan), just in front of the city hall of Cebu City. A sign below the cross claims that the original cross is encased inside the wooden cross that is found in the center of this chapel. This is to protect the original cross from people who chipped away parts of the cross for souvenir purposes or in the belief that the cross possesses miraculous powers.

Magellan's Cross is a symbol of Cebu City and the chapel's image can be found in its city seal. It is also seen as the symbol of Roman Catholicism and a tourist attraction in the Philippines.