12M devotees to join feast of the Black Nazarene, say organizers

Around 12 million devotees from all over the country are expected to join in the nine-day celebration culminating in the Feast of the Black Nazarene from Wednesday, January 1, to Thursday, January 9, the feast proper.

The figure encompasses those who will visit Quiapo Church from January 1 up to January 9.

The Black Nazarene is a wooden sculpture of a dark-skinned Jesus Christ, adorned in heavy velvet embroidered with gold thread and carrying the Cross. Originally one of two statues of Christ brought on a galleon from Mexico, it was believed to have been fair-skinned until a fire that broke out in the ship blackened the wood. The other, more popular statue was destroyed in the Liberation of Manila at the close of World War II.

The highlight of the pilgrimage is the procession on Thursday, (January 9), called the Traslacion, in which the supposedly miraculous image of the Black Nazarene will be transferred from the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta to Quiapo Church. Barefoot devotees will be walking with the image, as a sign of penance and thanksgiving for favors received.

In article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website, it was stated that Quiapo Church Rector Rev. Msgr. Clemente F. Ignacio met with the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MMDRRMC), headed by MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, and jointly planned how to manage security, emergency traffic, and crowd control during the Translacion.

In 2013, at least nine million devotees joined the nine-hour procession traversing the three-kilometer route from Luneta to the Basilica in Plaza Miranda.

Green celebration

Meanwhile, environmentalists and community leaders around Quiapo area are calling for green celebration of the feast.

“Combining our people’s amazing devotion to the Black Nazarene with action respecting, nurturing and defending Mother Earth, will be a powerful force of hope and deliverance against those who trash and ruin the environment,” said Tin Vergara, Zero Waste Campaigner of the EcoWaste Coalition.

The call came as devotees began the first of the nine-day novena.

Likewise, barangay leaders urged responsibility in Black Nazarene followers by not leaving their trash anywhere.

In past celebrations, truckloads of garbage were collected in the areas covered by the celebration. This was inclusive of cigarette butts, candy and snack wrappers, plastic bags, cups, bottles and straws, styrofoam containers, and bamboo skewers that often injure the soles of the devotees' feet. — VC, GMA News