Like how Jesus gathered his disciples, His call to faith echoes in different voices, yet one message resounds in disparate clarity, “Follow me.” For Engr. Venerando Olandria, his devotion to the beloved Holy Child started with curiosity before it bloomed into a deep-seated adoration. As a freshman in college who recently moved to an island away from Bohol, the myriad of people who gathered from all around the country to celebrate the feast day of Cebu’s most cherished patron piqued him with such wonder and eventually led him to join the assembly.

Distinct from her husband, Dr. Donna Lei’s love for Snr. Sto. Niño was a seed planted in her childhood days by both of her parents, which now ripened into a sturdy pillar of faith. Originally from General Santos City, she and her family would spend their Sunday afternoons in devotion to the Holy Child and end it with a traditional Halad dance. After settling in Cebu to study college, she would frequently visit the Basilica late at night during fiesta week to light candles and touch the image of Sto. Niño.

Despite their shared fealty to Sñr. Sto. Niño, becoming the Hermano and Hermana Mayores was a possibility they never thought of. Even after hearing the invitation, their initial thoughts were weaved with apprehension and hesitation. In valiant honesty, the couple confessed to praying of passing off the chance.

“Pagka-Dominggo [ana] (On Sunday [before that]), we attended the mass here because we wanted to ask for permission from Sto. Niño. My request to him [was] ‘Please ayaw na lang [kami pili-a], not us’ (Please let us not [be chosen], not us). I know there are a lot of people better than us,” Engr. Venerando narrated the moments before Fr. Nelson Zerda, OSA asked for Dr. Donna’s phone number the following Monday to organize a meeting with them.

In their defense, the couple was uncertain of how they would meet the responsibilities of the said roles, most especially the financial aspect. “We are sinful, we are not worthy. For me ha, I don’t have the luxury to pay [the expenses]… for one day,” the Hermana disclosed. “I would rather buy medicine, do free clinics with this money than spend it for [a] one day meal.”

The friars reassured them that the selection was founded on their spiritual background and devotion to the Holy Child.

“His will should be done,” Engr. Venerando upon coming into acceptance of the duty and honor bequeathed to them. Meanwhile, Dr. Donna likened the declining of this special task to the biblical stories of Israelites denying God during their exodus and Prophet Jonah’s escaping of his divine mission. In the end, she decided to “lift it [all] up.”

Moreover, the husband and wife saw the opportunity as an occasion to promote and strengthen the essence of being a family and of serving the community as a family. The two recounted that while the beginnings of their family life were twined with difficulties, they, more particularly Dr. Donna, believed that it was the grace of God that allowed them to carry on amidst the challenges.

Prior to their whirlwind meeting at a despedida party for Dr. Donna’s sister, a member of the Catholic lay group Opus Dei, Engr. Venerando initially thought of becoming a priest. Influenced by his religious parents and having served as an altar boy since his elementary days, he thought of walking the path of vocation, before realizing that such was not the road he was meant to travel. “Let’s not insist if it’s not the will of God, because you will not be happy.”

Still, the Hermano immersed himself in a setting that allowed him to connect with seminarians who congregated in Opus Dei, albeit not a member of the group at that time. And as if being drawn by “invisible hands” to a path of purpose, it was there where he would ultimately meet his other half and lifetime ally to a union that would soon build a family of eight.

However, in the early days of their marriage, the couple struggled with having children, experiencing four miscarriages. Most of Dr. Donna’s pregnancies also had complications that required bed rest and constant medications. At the same time, she would pursue medicine with the encouragement of her husband, thus, juggling her studies and motherhood. She recalled in mirth how her classmates would fondly remember her as the student who was “always pregnant” and “late” in class. In truth, the Hermana would quickly go down to her school’s parking lot in between classes, where her baby with the nanny lay waiting for the breastfeeding.

“It’s really difficult,” the Hermana described. Even during the death of her parents, she had to condition herself not to cry as she believed it would affect her breastfeeding children. But even amidst these challenges, she and her husband were firm in protecting their gifts, whom they always chose to be responsible for. In times of trials, they would look back at how Sñr. Sto. Niño came to the world with much struggles, and learned from how He grew up into becoming Jesus.

As the 2023 Hermano and Hermana Mayores, the Olandrias plan to “serve and disappear”—serving in full force as one family before vanishing, their acts of service becoming the footprints of their faith. Engr. Venerado told the friars during their meeting that “Father, we will not give fish, but we will teach them how to fish.”

Dr. Donna saw the Basilica’s clinic as a potential ground for volunteerism and spiritual learning. Part of the family’s tradition was to be involved in medical missions. And as a physician, she did not only aim to remedy physical ailments but guide patients toward their spiritual healing by leading them to religious leaders, and reminding them the importance of confession.

In addition to urging the lay sector to help the clergy through volunteering, they emphasized the magnitude of catechetical works—a dire need in these times of abundant access to information that may or may not be factual. The Hermano even wanted to clarify that in spite of the Holy Child being called “santo”, He is not a saint, but the second divinity of the Holy Trinity.

Asked for their message to other devotees, the couple united in appealing to fellow believers to “pray more, even harder” especially in the face of uncertain circumstances; to turn to the Source of Grace, who only waited to be asked. “Thy will be done. We do not know what else is ahead of us… [so] we pray for [the] strength to do His will, the courage to do His will, and the wisdom to know His will.”

And to their beloved patron, the Holy Child, all they pleaded was for Him to continue joining them in nourishing the family that He has entrusted upon them—Kuyog ta, Niño. /Devey Joy Gaviola, BMSN Media Centre volunteer