The Black Nazarene — a procession of faith

At 5:30 a.m. today, following a midnight mass at the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta in Manila, the procession of the Black Nazarene back to its permanent shrine at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene – Quiapo Church – begins.

This is the annual procession which has become known the world over as a stirring manifestation of the piety of the Filipino people. It is a reenactment of the image’s transfer – “traslacion” – from its original shrine in Intramuros to the basilica in Quiapo in 1787. Hundreds of thousands of devotees accompany the Black Nazarene as it slowly makes its way back to its home church.

Many Filipino Catholics believe the Black Nazarene is miraculous and that a mere touch of the image can cure diseases. Thus thousands seek to touch it during the procession as it slowly makes its way along a route from the Luneta, across the Pasig River -- using Ayala Bridge this year, then along various streets in Quiapo districrt until It finally reaches its home shrine.

The Black Nazarene has a history that dates back to the 16th century in Mexico, where it was made by an anonymous Mexican sculptor from dark mesquite wood. It crossed Pacific by galleon and was enshrined at the Church of San Juan Bautista of the Augustinian Recollects at Bagumbayan, Luneta, then moved to the Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Intramuros. On January 9, 1787, the Augustinians presented a copy of the image to Quiapo Church. This came to be celebrated every January 9, with a procession – called the Traslacion – from Intramuros, later Rizal Park, to Quiapo.

The devotion to the Black Nazarene is attributed in part to so many Filipinos identifying with the suffering of Christ as depicted in the image of him carrying a heavy cross. There is also the belief of many that touching it can result in miraculous cures of illnesses.

Later this month of January, the feast of the Santo Nino will be celebrated by Catholics all over the Philippines – including Bacolod, Bustos, Cebu, Kalibo, Malolos, Tacloban -- with the Sto. Nino rites in Tondo, Manila, among the biggest, with a fluvial procession and street dancing, a festival of joyful celebration. The new year in Manila thus begins with these two devotions – to the Black Nazarene and to the Santo Nino. Both attest to the piety of Filipinos who also honor various saints in all town and cities in the country, each with its own fiesta celebration.

Today, the nation watches and joins in the Black Nazarene procession, with hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees clad in maroon and yellow like the Black Nazarene. The entire procession today will last many hours, including a brief stop at Plaza del Carmen, beside the Basilica Menor de San Sebastian, reflecting the Fourth Station of the Cross where Christ meets his mother, the Virgin Mary, as he carries his cross to Golgotha.

There will be time enough time for joy in the other festivals of the country, but today, it will be a generally somber procession of faith for it is in honor of the suffering Black Nazarene, carrying his cross to Calvary, where he is to die to save mankind , which is at the center of the Christian faith.