Feast of the Black Nazarene

Celebrated annually on January 9, the Feast of the Black Nazarene draws Filipino devotees from all over the country who traditionally walk barefoot during the traslacion as a sign of penance and thanksgiving for favors received. The traslacion is the transfer of the image of the cross-bearing Christ from the Quirino Grandstand to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (also known as the Parish of Saint John the Baptist or Quiapo Church).

The image is traditionally brought out of Quiapo Church for public veneration on New Year’s Day, on its feast on January 9, and on Good Friday. The traslacion on January 9 draws the biggest crowd of maroonclad devotees who join the mammoth procession that lasts for over 10 hours. Last year, the procession took 21 hours to reach the Quiapo Church from the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park. A Eucharistic celebration will be held tonight at 12 midnight to be led by Msgr. Hernando Coronel, rector of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, and Manila Archbishop Luis

Antonio Cardinal Tagle as homilist. The

Black Nazarene will be borne on a red caroza (andas) whose abaca rope would be pulled along Manila’s streets as devotees chant “Viva Señor!” and seek to touch the image or hold on to the rope. Devotees along the route of the traslacion toss towels/handkerchiefs to the marshals atop the caroza and ask them to wipe the image. The belief is that the icon’s curative powers rub off on the cloth.

This unique Filipino devotion to the Black Nazarene was approved by Pope Innocent X in 1650 in a papal bull that canonically established the Cofradia de Jesus Nazareno. During the 19th century, Pope Pius VII granted indulgence to those who pray before the Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church.

January 9 is usually declared a special holiday in the City of Manila, where a 24-hour security plan is annually prepared by the Manila Police District and the Metro Manila Development Authority to ensure peace and order. The Philippine Coast Guard also assigns personnel near bridges along Pasig River, while the Philippine Red Cross deploys medical staff and ambulances.

The life-size image of the Black Nazarene that depicts Jesus on the way to his crucifixion was carved from a dark wood by an unknown Aztec carpenter in the 16th century in Mexico. It was brought to the Philippines by the Augustinian Recollect friars on May 31, 1606, and was first enshrined in what is now the Rizal Park. It was inaugurated on Sept. 10, 1606. The icon was later housed in several churches near Manila until it was brought to Quiapo in 1787. This unique Filipino devotion to the Black Nazarene has remained phenomenal and kept alive, with testimonies of countless devotees whose prayers had been answered.