Black Nazarene: Quiapo, Manila |
The
Black Nazarene was able to miraculously survive the great fires of 1791
and 1929. It was also able to escape the 1645 and 1863 great
earthquakes. During World War II, Manila was bombed but the Black
Nazarene remained quite intact though it was damaged in 1945.
On
January 9 a huge procession would take place every year during the
Feast of the Black Nazarene. It is by far the single biggest festival in
the whole Philippines. It’s a fun event to watch, as a tremendously
huge crowd of people, usually on bear foot to show their humility, would
struggle to pull the carriage carrying the Black Nazarene.
Every
year, when the Black Nazarene procession occurs, we can expect several
dozens of people faint or pass out and are rushed to the nearby
hospitals of the Quiapo District in Manila.
Devotees to the Black Nazarene usually flock to church on Friday to pay their devotions. Today the statue has become dark-skinned thus the name Black Nazarene.
Devotees to the Black Nazarene usually flock to church on Friday to pay their devotions. Today the statue has become dark-skinned thus the name Black Nazarene.
Augustinian Recollect friars brought the Black Nazarene to the Philippines on May 31, 1606 from Mexico.
A
bigger recollect church was later completed and dedicated. By order of
then Manila Archbishop Basilio Rufina the Black Nazarene was transferred
to that church in Intramuros in 1608.
Today,
during the Feast of the Black Nazarene, only a replica is brought out
for the procession. You will also see smaller replicas of the original
Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church. For
more than 200 years the Black Nazarene has been a figure of devotion
for Filipinos of the Roman Catholic faith. People, especially the
devotees, would crowd around the Black Nazarene and hope to touch the
image believing it would heal them of various diseases.
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