Feast of the Black Nazarene
ANIMISTIC SHAMANISM AS CATHOLICISMOver 2.6m barefoot devotees flock to Christ icon in Philippines
2024/01/09
Filipino devotees attempt to touch the carriage carrying the statue of the Black Nazarene during the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Jose Monsieur Santos/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
More than 2.6 million devotees on Tuesday joined the largest religious procession in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, jostling with each other during the hours-long march in honour of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ.
The devotees, mostly wearing maroon and yellow shirts, walked barefoot in the procession called Traslacion – the highlight of the feast of the Black Nazarene, a life-size wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross.
They believe the statue grants prayers and wishes to the faithful, and joining the procession and other activities of the festival despite difficult conditions was a show of faith and gratitude.
The frenzied celebrations returned after being cancelled for three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Police estimated the number of devotees that joined the procession at its peak at more than 2.6 million, including those who stayed overnight in a park in Manila or at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district for vigil masses.
“I can’t help but be emotional because the return of the Traslacion tells me that we can all have a new start after the hardships of the pandemic,” said 42-year Rogelio Castro Jr, a chef who has been a devotee since he was a child.
Castro said the Black Nazarene has blessed him with countless miracles, including victory in a legal claim with his former employee for injuries he suffered at work on a cruise ship in 2020.
“The lawyers warned me that the case could take more than two years,” the father of two said. “But the case was settled amicably in just eight months and I got what I asked for, which helped me set up a small business to support my family.”
For the first time in the procession, the Black Nazarene was placed inside a glass case, to prevent devotees from climbing up the carriage to touch the statue.
A part of the statue’s cross at the back was outside the case, and some devotees jumped over the crowd to touch it. Others clambered up the carriage to touch the glass enclosure, while most just held on to the thick rope attached to the carriage as it is pulled by a group of volunteers along the procession route.
A total of 15,000 police officers were deployed to secure the festival, especially the 6-kilometre procession that re-enacts the iconic image’s transfer from where it was enshrined in the former Spanish fort of Intramuros in Manila to the Quiapo church on January 9, 1767.
Nearly 1,000 people were injured or fell ill during the procession, according to the Department of Health and the Philippine Red Cross.
At least one man suffered head trauma after falling from the carriage, while many got dizzy, fainted, suffered punctures or lacerations on their feet, hyperventilation and elevated blood pressure.
Edrina Arguelles, 54, joined the procession with her family and told ABS-CBN News that she owes her life to the Black Nazarene.
“I am a product of the Nazarene devotion,” she said. “My parents were childless for four years after they got married. Someone advised my father to pray to the Black Nazarene for a child.”
In 2018, Arguelles said she promised to serve the Black Nazarene for as long as she can in an offering for her 1-year-old granddaughter who had to undergo head surgery after accidentally falling from her bed.
“I will make sure to pass down this devotion to my children and grandchildren ... because if not for the Black Nazarene, I am nothing,” she said.
Organizers expect the statue to reach Quiapo church after about 18 hours. In the past, the procession has taken as long as 22 hours.
The government declared Tuesday a non-working holiday in Manila City, while local authorities imposed bans on liquor sales and carrying of firearms among civilians during the feast.
Telecommunication companies temporarily jammed service in the area as a security precaution.
The Black Nazarene statue is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived and was named the Black Nazarene.
More than 2.6 million devotees on Tuesday joined the largest religious procession in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, jostling with each other during the hours-long march in honour of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ.
The devotees, mostly wearing maroon and yellow shirts, walked barefoot in the procession called Traslacion – the highlight of the feast of the Black Nazarene, a life-size wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross.
They believe the statue grants prayers and wishes to the faithful, and joining the procession and other activities of the festival despite difficult conditions was a show of faith and gratitude.
The frenzied celebrations returned after being cancelled for three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Police estimated the number of devotees that joined the procession at its peak at more than 2.6 million, including those who stayed overnight in a park in Manila or at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district for vigil masses.
“I can’t help but be emotional because the return of the Traslacion tells me that we can all have a new start after the hardships of the pandemic,” said 42-year Rogelio Castro Jr, a chef who has been a devotee since he was a child.
Castro said the Black Nazarene has blessed him with countless miracles, including victory in a legal claim with his former employee for injuries he suffered at work on a cruise ship in 2020.
“The lawyers warned me that the case could take more than two years,” the father of two said. “But the case was settled amicably in just eight months and I got what I asked for, which helped me set up a small business to support my family.”
For the first time in the procession, the Black Nazarene was placed inside a glass case, to prevent devotees from climbing up the carriage to touch the statue.
A part of the statue’s cross at the back was outside the case, and some devotees jumped over the crowd to touch it. Others clambered up the carriage to touch the glass enclosure, while most just held on to the thick rope attached to the carriage as it is pulled by a group of volunteers along the procession route.
A total of 15,000 police officers were deployed to secure the festival, especially the 6-kilometre procession that re-enacts the iconic image’s transfer from where it was enshrined in the former Spanish fort of Intramuros in Manila to the Quiapo church on January 9, 1767.
Nearly 1,000 people were injured or fell ill during the procession, according to the Department of Health and the Philippine Red Cross.
At least one man suffered head trauma after falling from the carriage, while many got dizzy, fainted, suffered punctures or lacerations on their feet, hyperventilation and elevated blood pressure.
Edrina Arguelles, 54, joined the procession with her family and told ABS-CBN News that she owes her life to the Black Nazarene.
“I am a product of the Nazarene devotion,” she said. “My parents were childless for four years after they got married. Someone advised my father to pray to the Black Nazarene for a child.”
In 2018, Arguelles said she promised to serve the Black Nazarene for as long as she can in an offering for her 1-year-old granddaughter who had to undergo head surgery after accidentally falling from her bed.
“I will make sure to pass down this devotion to my children and grandchildren ... because if not for the Black Nazarene, I am nothing,” she said.
Organizers expect the statue to reach Quiapo church after about 18 hours. In the past, the procession has taken as long as 22 hours.
The government declared Tuesday a non-working holiday in Manila City, while local authorities imposed bans on liquor sales and carrying of firearms among civilians during the feast.
Telecommunication companies temporarily jammed service in the area as a security precaution.
The Black Nazarene statue is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived and was named the Black Nazarene.
Filipino devotees attempt to touch the carriage carrying the statue of the Black Nazarene during the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Jose Monsieur Santos/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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