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The Black Nazarene is a life-sized statue of Christ that a priest bought in Mexico, carved by an Aztec carpenter. The statue was brought to Manila in 1606. The statue was blackened by a shipboard fire, on the journey from Acapulco to Manila, and has since been called the Black Nazarene.

Though burnt, the image was still well preserved and honored by the people of Manila and, since then, many who became devotees of the Black Nazarene reported miraculous occurrences which they credited to the statue, such as healing the sick and granting wishes. Since 1787 the statue has been housed at Saint John the Baptist Church in Quiapo.

The procession, and the accompanying Feast of the Black Nazarene, takes place every year on the ninth day of January. For more than 200 years the church has been placing the statue on a gilded carriage every January and pulling it through the streets of Quiapo. People who touch it are reported to sometimes be healed of diseases. Catholics come from all over Manila on the chance that they will be able to get close enough to touch the image and perhaps receive a miracle. They also throw towels to the people who guard the statue and ask them to rub the towel on the statue in hopes of carrying some of that power away with them.

In 1998, a replica of the original Black Nazarene was first paraded due to the repeated damages on the statue. Today this replica is still used in the parades while the original rests inside the church.

Where: starts in front of Quiapo church and parade through the streets of the district before returning to the church in the evening.

When: Every year on January 9. It is a whole day affair.

My rate: 10/10. One of the most breathtaking events I ever witnessed in the Philippines. More than half a million devotees attend this event. Be careful because when so many people come together an accident is always possible. People pass out, get injured or die. The risk of being trampled is not remote. Every year the police fear terrorist attacks. There are so many people that security services and medics can’t evacuate the casualties. I doubt there are any effective crowd management plans in place. It is very important you choose a safe and good spot to witness the procession.

For more pictures of this event click here.

Info: My Sarisari Store

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 at 10:27 am and is filed under Metro Manila, Road Trip, Travel Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.