unfolded in the parish of St. Agatha Cranbourne (Victoria), Diocese of Sale.  The Filipino Catholics of the parish celebrated its first Simbang Gabi on December 2018 and this became an annual novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Flocking to the Church at 5 o’clock in the morning, the parish priest, Fr. Joseph Abutu, was amazed to find out on the first dawn mass that the Church was almost full.  This went on for nine mornings and finally Fr. Joseph realised the faith of the Filipinos.

In December 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, the kind-hearted priest revisited the ‘whispers’ amongst the Cebuanos about the novena to the Holy Child known as the Sr. Sto. Niño.  Those ‘whispers’ gathered momentum and eventually reached ‘fever pitch’ after the conclusion of Simbang Gabi masses in December 2020.  Finally, January 2021 was the first time Sinulog would be danced through the masses for the Holy Child, Sr. Sto. Niño.