Thousands throng Manila streets for Black Nazarene feast

Thousands of devotees of a 17th-century statue of a dark-skinned Jesus Christ thronged the streets of Manila over the weekend, as relaxed Covid-19 rules allowed people to venerate the Black Nazarene up close.

- Mara Cepeda

Over 88,000 people joined the 6km procession held in the early hours of Sunday, though this was only a fraction of the mammoth crowd that used to come together every Jan 9 for a chance to pray before the life-sized effigy they believe can perform miracles.

The Feast of the Black Nazarene, or the Nazareno, is the biggest religious event in the predominantly Catholic Philippines and one of the largest displays of religious fervour in the world.

The statue was brought to Manila by Augustinian friars from Mexico in 1607. It is believed the effigy acquired its dark colour after it was charred when the ship carrying it caught fire.

Before the pandemic, a million barefoot devotees would join the hours-long Traslacion, or transfer procession, where the Nazareno is paraded from the grandstand in the capital's biggest park to Quiapo Church.

It was common for worshippers to jostle to hold on to the ropes used to pull the Nazareno's carriage and climb on top of other people's shoulders just to touch and wipe towels on the effigy.

For believers, every drop of sweat, tears and blood they shed is an expression of their sacrifice and gratitude for the blessings that came their way because of the Nazareno's intercession.