Millions of Filipino Catholics join Black Nazarene procession

MANILA – More than six million Catholic devotees in the Philippines turned up for 2024’s procession to honour Black Nazarene, turning the streets of the capital Manila into a sea of maroon and yellow, in a grand display of religious devotion.

The centuries-old tradition of paying homage to the black wooden statue of Jesus Christ, believed to have healing powers, drew massive numbers of Catholics to take part in the procession, which in the last three years was cancelled because of Covid-19.

“I am very pleased the old system is back, and we get to do this again,” said Mr Jonathan Rancho, 52, who travelled with his wife and two children from Bulacan province to Manila to join the procession.

“I prayed that hopefully this year our livelihoods will get better, I hope that my work would be a success, and we be given a prosperous life, so I may fulfil my obligations to my family,” he added.

An early morning estimate by the police put the crowd at more than 830,000 people, which later swelled to 6.5 million along the procession’s 6km route, according to an official of the Quiapo church, home of the statue.

Thousands of police were deployed to ensure order as many of the barefoot devotees tried to climb aboard the carriage holding the statue, which depicts Jesus shouldering a heavy cross.

It is not known why the statue, which was carved in Mexico and brought to the Philippines in the early 17th century, turned black.

But the late Philippine priest, Monsignor Sabino Vengco Jr, claimed the image is dark through its core because it is made of mesquite wood.

About 80 per cent of the country’s 110 million people identify as Roman Catholic, a legacy of hundreds of years as a Spanish colony.

The procession, which lasted 15 hours, was generally peaceful, although the Philippine Red Cross said hundreds needed medical attention due to injuries. REUTERS