Tondo, the first foundation of the island of Luzon, was established in 1572 under the patronage of the Holy Name of Jesus. It was cut off from Tambokan
in 1514, from Caloocan in 1815 when it was handed over to the Recollects. The church was originally built in the second half of the nineteenth century by the Agustinian Missionaries evangelizing the region. In 1919, this church and its rectory were in a state of physical neglect. It was completely repaired under the supervision of Fr. Jose N. Jovellanos in 1922. When the Japanese army commandeered the church in 1945, desecrating the holy place and depriving the faithful of their house of worship, Msgr. Jovellanos saved all he could of the sacred belongings of the church including the inage of Sto. Niño. With the assistance and generous support of zealous parishioners, the shrine was reconstructed and inaugurated in 1958.
A historical aspect of the feast day is the fluvial procession of the Sto. Niño. Called the "caracol" in the earlier days in an analogous sense perhaps because it went at a snail's pace. It consisted of taking the Sto. Niño, mounted on pagoda, on a procession along the seashore, starting from Ortega Street which was then the coastline prior to the reclamation.
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| Via HM King Raymond |
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