A hollow octagonal kiosk on Osmeña Boulevard, next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, houses the cross that Ferdinand Magellan planted upon his arrival in the Philippines in 1521. The original wood is enclosed within a larger wooden cross to protect it. The ceiling above is painted with scenes of the first baptism. Pilgrims come here daily, and candle vendors outside will sell you tapers to light inside.
Magellan's Cross
A story
Ferdinand Magellan planted the original cross on 14 April 1521 when he baptised Rajah Humabon and his wife — the first mass baptism in the Philippines. The hollow octagonal pillar encasing the cross was built in 1835 to protect the original wood, which local belief holds has miraculous healing properties; over the centuries, devotees had chipped off so many fragments that the authorities had to encase it entirely.