Massive Black Nazarene procession returns to Philippines after pandemic pause
- Many Filipinos believe the icon has miraculous powers and that touching it can heal previously incurable ailments and bring good fortune
- It’s the first time the parade featuring the life-size statue has been held since 2020, after Covid forced officials to drastically downsize the event
Hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful swarmed a historic statue of Jesus Christ as it was pulled through the streets of the Philippine capital on Tuesday, in one of the world’s biggest displays of religious devotion.
There were chaotic scenes as the feverish march got under way before dawn following an open-air Mass for the so-called Black Nazarene statue in a seaside park in Manila.
Many Filipinos believe the icon has miraculous healing powers and that touching it, or the ropes attached to its float, can heal previously incurable ailments and bring good fortune to them and their loved ones.
As a light rain fell over the massive crowd, some barefoot devotees risked injury to reach the float by clambering over others and clinging to the clothes of guards protecting the icon, causing some to fall off the float.
Other guards on the float pushed unruly devotees to the ground to keep them away from the icon enclosed in a glass case and allow the parade to continue on its journey of several kilometres.
More than 15,000 security and medical personnel have been deployed along the route of the procession, which authorities estimated would attract over two million people as it crawled towards its destination, Quiapo Church.