Devotees gather around the glass-covered cart carrying Black Nazarene during its annual procession which was resumed after a three-year suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. A mammoth crowd of mostly barefoot Catholic devotees joined a chaotic procession through downtown Manila Tuesday to venerate a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ with many praying for peace in the Middle East where Filipino relatives work. - AP
MANILA (dpa): More than one million barefoot Christians on Tuesday joined an annual religious procession in the predominantly Catholic Philippines to honour a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ.
More than 5,600 police officers were deployed to secure the feast of the Black Nazarene, which returned after three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Black Nazarene is a wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross. Devotees believe the statue grants prayers and wishes to the faithful.
For the first time in the procession, the Black Nazarene was placed inside a glass cage, to prevent devotees from climbing up the carriage to touch the statue.
The 6-kilometre procession from Luneta Park to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district re-enacts the statue's move in 1787.
The Philippine Red Cross said its volunteers treated 180 patients suffering from fainting, bruises, lacerations and breathing difficulties, four hours into the procession which started at 4:45 am (2045 GMT Monday).
The government declared Tuesday a non-working holiday in Manila City, while local authorities imposed bans on liquor sales and carrying of firearms among civilians during the feast.
Telecommunication companies temporarily jammed service in the area as a security precaution.
The Black Nazarene statue is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived and was named the Black Nazarene. - dpa
