Millions escort Black Nazarene in the Philippines
SOURCE: ANN
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - For 14 hours or more, the centuries-old statue of the Black Nazarene bore not just the cross on its back but the prayers and dreams of its legions of Filipino devotees.
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SOURCE: ANN
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - For 14 hours or more, the centuries-old statue of the Black Nazarene bore not just the cross on its back but the prayers and dreams of its legions of Filipino devotees.
Defying the heat and bursts of rains, a multitude of believers--many of them barefoot--carried the life-size image of a mulatto Christ in a frenzied demonstration of faith through the streets of downtown Manila.
Many took part in the annual feast to implore God for help in solving money, family or business problems. Some came to ask to be healed of maladies, while at least one came to pray that he win at the lottery.
Many others came to thank the Black Christ for blessings received.
Manila's Police District Director, Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla, said 1.2 million attended a dawn Mass at Rizal Park's Quirino Grandstand before the procession began, and 1.5 million others muscled their way through the streets to bring the icon to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, its home for 404 years.
Director Nicanor Bartolome, National Capital Region Police Office chief, was more generous. He estimated the number of devotees who attended the Mass and lined the 5-km procession route at 7 million to 7.5 million.
Asked how he arrived at the figure, Bartolome said: "A lot of devotees made their way to Manila from the provinces but we do not have an estimate as to how many people came from the provinces. The procession route was lined with throngs of devotees, the streets packed with people."
Supt. James Afalla, Sta. Cruz police station commander, put the crowd massed outside Quiapo Church before the procession arrived at 600,000.
Reuters Television estimated the crowds at 2 million.
Feast casualties
As of 8pm, as the march neared the church, the Philippine Red Cross said it had treated 578 people who suffered minor injuries, such as cuts and fractures, and other discomforts, like dizzy spells or high blood pressure.
Unlike last year when one devotee died of a heart attack, there were no fatalities this time.
The procession was expected to end at the doors of Quiapo Church at between 11 p.m. and midnight, police said.
"Viva! Viva! Viva!" the crowds chanted while waving white face towels and handkerchiefs in rapid circular motions, a spectacular scene that appeared, from a distance, like a thousand fluttering doves in a sea of humanity.
"I know in my heart God will make a way for my daughter to survive her ordeal. He will make a miracle for us," jeepney driver Nestor dela Fuente said, his voice breaking.
Despite his asthma, the 56-year-old widower squeezed himself through a thick crowd to hear the hourly Mass being shown on a giant screen outside Quiapo Church.
Dela Fuente said he had been attending the procession since his teenage daughter was afflicted with a deadly respiratory disease five years ago. He could not give the specific name of the malady.
Be like Christ
The feast commemorates the first procession to transfer the Black Nazarene from a church in Intramuros to the minor basilica in Quiapo on Jan. 9, 1767.
In his homily at Quirino Grandstand, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales stressed that the life and the suffering of the Black Nazarene were relevant to Filipinos. Drawing parallels between the Christ who was raised simply in Nazareth and the Filipinos, he said both were patient and compassionate.
"Let us try harder to emulate Him, who had a simple life and livelihood, simple ambitions and desires," Rosales exhorted.
He reminded the devotees that even if they were far away from the icon, Christ was listening to their prayers.
"Distance is nothing to God ... It is the people who distance themselves, but if you call on God, he will listen to you no matter how far away you are," the cardinal said.
Only the head of the image paraded yesterday was not part of the original statue carved in Mexico, said Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, rector of the minor basilica in Quiapo. The genuine head of the image has been placed on a replica of the body enshrined within the altar of the basilica.
The head and the body had to be split "because people joining the procession wanted to touch the original image while others visiting the basilica also want the original," Ignacio said.
Church officials were overwhelmed by the high turnout. "It means that the Catholic population is growing and the people's faith is also growing," Ignacio said.
In an interview, Rosales observed that majority of the devotees were "poor, ordinary Filipinos."
"Every year, the number of devotees are growing because they see themselves in the image of the suffering and struggling Black Nazarene," he said.
Barefoot devotees
Soaked by rain and sweat, many clambered over heads and shoulders in a frantic attempt to touch the Black Nazarene icon.
Several dozen carriages bearing smaller replicas of the Black Nazarene from religious chapters went ahead of or tailed the main carriage.
Barefoot devotees dressed in the devotional colors of maroon and gold, surrounded the Nazarene's carriage, pulling and tugging at the cordon ropes. They pushed, jostled and shoved those in the way as they plodded on.
"I will keep doing this while I still have the strength, like my father did when he was still alive," said the 64-year-old Josefino Quintero.
Among the crowd were two New Zealand backpackers who wanted to get a taste of what a real religious festival was all about.
"We were lucky enough to catch the Black Nazarene as it passed over Jones bridge," said 25-year-old Fiona Mcalaster.
Asked if they believed in the healing powers of the Nazarene, her companion, 26-year-old Joe Connell said: "To think that this many people have come to gather to see a statue suggests that there is a higher power at work. You can't help but get caught up in it."
Church officials cautioned against taking devotion to the statue to extremes.
"The devotion we give to this statue should be properly understood. This does not have special powers, it's just a representation of our Lord," Bishop Deogracias Iniguez Jr. said on radio.
"When you believe it has special powers per se, that is when it becomes superstition." With reports from Miko Morelos, Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Jocelyn R. Uy and Stacey Moseley
Many took part in the annual feast to implore God for help in solving money, family or business problems. Some came to ask to be healed of maladies, while at least one came to pray that he win at the lottery.
Many others came to thank the Black Christ for blessings received.
Manila's Police District Director, Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla, said 1.2 million attended a dawn Mass at Rizal Park's Quirino Grandstand before the procession began, and 1.5 million others muscled their way through the streets to bring the icon to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, its home for 404 years.
Director Nicanor Bartolome, National Capital Region Police Office chief, was more generous. He estimated the number of devotees who attended the Mass and lined the 5-km procession route at 7 million to 7.5 million.
Asked how he arrived at the figure, Bartolome said: "A lot of devotees made their way to Manila from the provinces but we do not have an estimate as to how many people came from the provinces. The procession route was lined with throngs of devotees, the streets packed with people."
Supt. James Afalla, Sta. Cruz police station commander, put the crowd massed outside Quiapo Church before the procession arrived at 600,000.
Reuters Television estimated the crowds at 2 million.
Feast casualties
As of 8pm, as the march neared the church, the Philippine Red Cross said it had treated 578 people who suffered minor injuries, such as cuts and fractures, and other discomforts, like dizzy spells or high blood pressure.
Unlike last year when one devotee died of a heart attack, there were no fatalities this time.
The procession was expected to end at the doors of Quiapo Church at between 11 p.m. and midnight, police said.
"Viva! Viva! Viva!" the crowds chanted while waving white face towels and handkerchiefs in rapid circular motions, a spectacular scene that appeared, from a distance, like a thousand fluttering doves in a sea of humanity.
"I know in my heart God will make a way for my daughter to survive her ordeal. He will make a miracle for us," jeepney driver Nestor dela Fuente said, his voice breaking.
Despite his asthma, the 56-year-old widower squeezed himself through a thick crowd to hear the hourly Mass being shown on a giant screen outside Quiapo Church.
Dela Fuente said he had been attending the procession since his teenage daughter was afflicted with a deadly respiratory disease five years ago. He could not give the specific name of the malady.
Be like Christ
The feast commemorates the first procession to transfer the Black Nazarene from a church in Intramuros to the minor basilica in Quiapo on Jan. 9, 1767.
In his homily at Quirino Grandstand, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales stressed that the life and the suffering of the Black Nazarene were relevant to Filipinos. Drawing parallels between the Christ who was raised simply in Nazareth and the Filipinos, he said both were patient and compassionate.
"Let us try harder to emulate Him, who had a simple life and livelihood, simple ambitions and desires," Rosales exhorted.
He reminded the devotees that even if they were far away from the icon, Christ was listening to their prayers.
"Distance is nothing to God ... It is the people who distance themselves, but if you call on God, he will listen to you no matter how far away you are," the cardinal said.
Only the head of the image paraded yesterday was not part of the original statue carved in Mexico, said Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, rector of the minor basilica in Quiapo. The genuine head of the image has been placed on a replica of the body enshrined within the altar of the basilica.
The head and the body had to be split "because people joining the procession wanted to touch the original image while others visiting the basilica also want the original," Ignacio said.
Church officials were overwhelmed by the high turnout. "It means that the Catholic population is growing and the people's faith is also growing," Ignacio said.
In an interview, Rosales observed that majority of the devotees were "poor, ordinary Filipinos."
"Every year, the number of devotees are growing because they see themselves in the image of the suffering and struggling Black Nazarene," he said.
Barefoot devotees
Soaked by rain and sweat, many clambered over heads and shoulders in a frantic attempt to touch the Black Nazarene icon.
Several dozen carriages bearing smaller replicas of the Black Nazarene from religious chapters went ahead of or tailed the main carriage.
Barefoot devotees dressed in the devotional colors of maroon and gold, surrounded the Nazarene's carriage, pulling and tugging at the cordon ropes. They pushed, jostled and shoved those in the way as they plodded on.
"I will keep doing this while I still have the strength, like my father did when he was still alive," said the 64-year-old Josefino Quintero.
Among the crowd were two New Zealand backpackers who wanted to get a taste of what a real religious festival was all about.
"We were lucky enough to catch the Black Nazarene as it passed over Jones bridge," said 25-year-old Fiona Mcalaster.
Asked if they believed in the healing powers of the Nazarene, her companion, 26-year-old Joe Connell said: "To think that this many people have come to gather to see a statue suggests that there is a higher power at work. You can't help but get caught up in it."
Church officials cautioned against taking devotion to the statue to extremes.
"The devotion we give to this statue should be properly understood. This does not have special powers, it's just a representation of our Lord," Bishop Deogracias Iniguez Jr. said on radio.
"When you believe it has special powers per se, that is when it becomes superstition." With reports from Miko Morelos, Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Jocelyn R. Uy and Stacey Moseley
