While known for its rich history and cultural heritage, Quiapo is more recognized as the home of the Black Nazarene, also known as Nuestro Padre Señor de Nazareno. A distinguished landmark, Quiapo church houses a life-size image of the Nazareno venerated by people from all walks of life every 9th of January.

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          Devotees from different points of origin gather and occupy the whole vicinity of Quiapo on the feast of the Black Nazarene. On such day, Quiapo is inundated by an ocean of devotees in a spectacular display of faith and awe. The Black Nazarene is hailed in constant praise and adoration, and a revelry “in a frenzied ritual that witnesses a whole unstoppable river of people flowing through the streets of Quiapo accompanying the image of the Nazareno and its private counterparts as they make their way from Quiapo Church and back in a spiritedly-festive religious procession” (Ozaeta 106).

 

          The statue of the Black Nazarene or Mahal na Itim na Nazareno ng Quiapo is presented in religious processions four times annually. According to Rev. Fr. Douglas Badong, Parochial Vicar of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church), the Black Nazarene is taken out for processions every January 7 (along with other replicas coming from different parishes), January 9 (the Feast day of Señor Nazareno), Good Friday, and December 31 (for Thanksgiving). Of the four processions, the procession on January 9 is the most highly anticipated for it is the feast day of the Black Nazarene. This procession is so significant that the city government of Manila declares January 9 as a holiday.

 

          This holy procession reenacts a historical event, the 1787 solemn Traslacion, or transfer, of the image from its original home in San Nicolas de Tolentino Church in Bagumbayan to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila.

 

          During the Traslacion, multitudes of devotees take part in honoring the Black Nazarene as they participate in a grand procession that typically takes 18 to 22 hours, and sometimes even longer. The Black Nazarene “is carried on a gilded carriage pulled on a heavy rope by barefoot men through Quiapo’s narrow streets” (de Villa, Jones, and Brady 67). The devotees of Señor Nazareno participate in the procession, walking barefooted to imitate Jesus Christ on His way to Mount Calvary.

 

          Various reasons compel people to join the procession: petition, gratitude for answered prayers and miracles, and devotion. They pay no attention to the exhaustion they experience while traversing the streets of Manila (i.e., following a predetermined route of procession) that ultimately conclude in their return to the Quiapo Church. The procession is spearheaded by the Hijos del Nazareno who lead the crowd of devotees as they “shout ‘Viva Señor!’ and try to touch the image of the Black Nazarene, hoping to have the year’s sins forgiven” (de Villa, Jones, and Brady 67).

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          In her article on Quiapo as a pilgrim center, Elizabeth V. Reyes articulated a vivid, picturesque depiction of the feast of the Black Nazarene, which highlights the Translacion: a massive spectacle that seems more pagan rite than Catholic ritual, it is the most dramatic living example of folk religion in the only Christian nation in Asia… The maroon-clad Señor burst from the churchyard after midday and is immediately swallowed up by a throbbing crowd jostling to touch his robes or to walk by his carriage. It is believed that making contact with the Black Nazarene during the annual procession will gain the miraculous healing powers for the participants. Devotees fight fiercely to hold onto the four long ropes attached to the Nazarene’s carriage and risk bodily trampling and suffocation to cling exultantly onto a few precious inches of hemp. As the Señor inches a tedious path around Quiapo, devotees throw out the small white towels, seeking a touch to the miraculous statue. Attendants riding on board the Señor’s carriage catch and wipe the cloths on the dark Christ’s face or hands, before throwing them back to the crowds indiscriminately. Occasionally one fervent participant rises above the sheer press of bodies, is swept over the sea of heads toward the Señor, and joins the ritual wiping rites, while the procession continues amid a steady rain of towels. Cloths that have caressed the statue are treasured and used to anoint the sick. Womenfolk dressed in long maroon robes stay safely apart from the fanatic street procession, loudly praying their rosaries. Particpants bask in blessing by their presence in this folk ritual of worship that is unusual as it is ancient and sincere. But the festival belongs to the macho menfolk, during Señor Nazareno’s fervid passage through the streets of Quiapo. (46-7)

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          Last January, ABS CBN news.com reported more than 12 million participants joined the 6.9- kilometer Translacion and the Black Nazarene was returned at Quiapo Church after 22 hours of procession.

 

History of the Black Nazarene

 

          The Black Nazarene was brought from Acapulco, Mexico to the Philippines by Augustinian Recollect missionaries. It arrived through a galleon ship on May 31, 1606. The life-size image of the suffering Jesus Christ, who is kneeling on one knee and is about five feet tall, weighs around 50 kilos with dark wig hair made of abaca or jusi with a crown of golden thorns. It carries a cross about eight feet tall.

 

          According to the Roman Catholic belief, the ship that carries the image caught fire during its journey, changing it from its original white into black or burnt complexion; thus, it was called Black Nazarene.

Cruz (1995) reports, “After its arrival in Manila, the dark skin coloring of the statue became even darker so that it became affectionately known as the Black Nazarene.”

 

          The Black Nazarene was originally kept in the first Recollect church in Bagumbayan (now part of the Rizal Park), which was established on September 10, 1606, and placed under the patronage of San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist). In 1608, the image of the Nazareno was transferred to the second, bigger Recollect church in Intramuros dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino (Saint Nicholas of Tolentine). In 1787, then Archbishop of Manila, Basilio Sancho de Santas Junta y Rufina, ordered the transfer of the image of the Nazareno to the church in Quiapo, placing it under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist.

 

          The Black Nazarene miraculously survived tragedies. It endured great fires that destroyed the Quiapo Church in 1791 and 1929, great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the destructive Bombing of Manila in 1945 during World War II. Currently, the head and the cross stay on the Altar Mayor of the Minor Basilica and the original body image of the Black Nazarene is used in the processions.