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Feast of the Black Nazarene, Quiapo, Philippines
The Feast of the Black Nazarene, in Quiapo, Manila, is observed every 9th of January. The religious event is attended by thousands of devotees as the patron saint of Quiapo, the Black Nazarene, is carried in a carriage by a number of the faithful in a procession witnessed by people from all walks of life.
The Black Nazarene is a wooden-sculpture which is dark in color or complexion which resulted from a boat fire when it was transported from Mexico. It is an exact replica of Jesus Christ carrying the cross.
Some say that the wooden figure possesses powers that whoever touches it experiences healing and miracles. The Black Nazarene is currently enshrined at the St. John de Baptist Church in Quiapo, Manila. The church is also known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene.
The feast starts when the doors of the church is opened and the wooden statue is carried out. The length of the procession is about 4.7 kilometers long. Many accidents have happened during the celebration because of the waves of people trying to touch the image itself. The swelling number of people sometimes extends to hundreds of meters from Quiapo church's doors. Some devotees just wave white handkerchiefs in the air for them to be blessed and provided with a good life.
Over time, the popularity of the celebration spread to the southern provinces of Luzon, the Visayas and some parts of Mindanao bringing in more devotees when the procession starts. It has been reported that one time the number of people who joined the procession swelled to about a million devotees. This just proved the strength of the Christian faith in the Philippines.