The annual procession for the Feast of the Black Nazarene or ‘Traslacion’ ended after more than 20 hours and 54 minutes early Friday morning with over 7.4 million devotees in attendance, the longest since 2020, authorities said.
According to the Manila Public Information Office, the Black Nazarene image reached the Minor Basilica of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church at 1:26 AM on January 10. It left Quirino Grandstand at 4:40 AM on Thursday, January 9.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) claimed there were no untoward incidents reported. It confirmed sightings of drones despite the ‘no fly zone’ policy imposed by authorities.
“Actually the drones seen flying were ours, it was part of the
monitoring purposes of the Traslacion, most of it was part of the
armed services,” said Police Brigadier General Rogelio Peñones, assistant supervisor for the Special Task Force-Nazareno.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier reported that its medical stations registered 332 consultations from the pilgrims, who were treated for wounds, headache, dizziness and hypertension.
Traslacion is a centuries-old Filipino tradition of paying homage to the black wooden statue of Jesus Christ, believed to have healing and life-transforming powers, that draws millions of Catholics around the country.
Police estimated crowd attendance at 7.4 million by the time it ended. But cumulative figures released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said overall attendance reached over 8 million based on their monitoring in Quirino Grandstand, the Traslacion routes, and Quiapo Church.
