The image of the Black Nazarene has returned to the Quiapo Church after a procession lasting nearly 15 hours.
Church authorities said over 6.5 million people attended the procession, which started at around 5 a.m. from Quirino Grandstand, although police estimates had it a more modest 2.5 million.
The crowd at the Quiapo Church was also estimated at 1,398,500 as of 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Philippine National Police earlier said this year’s Traslacion was “generally peaceful” and “better coordinated” than in previous years.
Devotees in maroon and yellow shirts shouting “Viva Nazareno” waved their towels in the air relentlessly as the statue of the Black Nazarene passed near them.
The Manila Police District estimated the crowd at more than 2.5 million people, breaking last year’s record of 2 million. It also reported 38 injuries, though none were serious.
There were chaotic scenes as the feverish march got underway before dawn following an open-air mass for the Black Nazarene at Luneta Park.
Meanwhile, Quiapo Church officials said they are hoping the Vatican would declare Jan. 9 of every year a national feast in honor of the feast of the Black Nazarene in the Philippines.
“We pray that the next time we are gathered here, Jan. 9 will be declared by the Church as a national feast in honor of the Black Nazarene,” Quiapo Church rector Fr. Jun Sescon said.
Last year, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines approved their proposal during the 126th Plenary Assembly.
Many Filipinos believe the icon has miraculous healing powers and that touching it, or the ropes attached to its float, can heal previously incurable ailments and bring good fortune to them and their loved ones.
“I believe that the Nazarene will give what we are all praying for — we just have to wait, but he will give everything,” Renelinda de Leon, 64, said at the start of the procession.
“He gave me good health. I don’t have an illness, I’m always healthy.”
As a light rain fell over the massive crowd, some barefoot devotees risked injury to reach the float by clambering over others and clinging to the clothes of guards protecting the icon, causing some to fall.
Other guards on the float pushed unruly devotees to the ground to keep them away from the icon enclosed in a glass case and allow the parade to continue on its journey of 6.2 kilometers.
More than 15,000 security and medical personnel were deployed along the route of the procession.
At one point, organizers estimated just over a million people were marching slowly towards the destination of Quiapo Church.
It is the first time the traditional parade featuring the life-sized statue has been held since 2020, after COVID-19 forced officials to drastically downsize the event.
The original wooden statue was brought to the Philippines in the early 1600s when the nation was a Spanish colony.
Many Filipinos believe it got its dark color after surviving a fire aboard a ship en route from Mexico.
Marites Rote credited the Black Nazarene with healing her children’s skin rashes nearly 40 years ago and, more recently, ensuring the family could pay her husband’s medical bills. With AFP
