‘People step on my face, but I have a devotion’: barefoot Catholics throng Jesus icon in huge Philippine procession
The statue of the Black Nazarene passed through the streets of the capital on its way to the Quiapo church, a journey that takes 20 hours and could draw millions of participants
A sea of heaving, towel-waving humanity swarmed a black statue of a cross-bearing Jesus Christ in the Philippine capital on Tuesday as the Catholic faithful joined one of the nation’s largest religious festivals.
In a frenzied display of religious fervour, men, women and children climbed over heads and shoulders and flung themselves at the centuries-old Black Nazarene that they say performs miracles.
Drawn by devotees pulling on thick ropes attached to its carriage, the icon left a central Manila park with 490,000 people in tow waving white towels and chanting “Viva” (“Long live”), Manila police said.
The statue passed through the streets of old Manila on its way to the Quiapo church, a journey that usually takes 20 hours or more and which police said would draw millions of participants.
