Black Nazarene procession attracts millions in the Philippines

Filipino Catholic devotees jostle one another to touch the Black Nazarene during its annual procession on Jan. 9, 2025, in Manila, Philippines. The feast of the Black Nazarene is attended by millions of barefoot devotees and happens every Jan. 9. / Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Jan 9, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

The Black Nazarene procession in Manila, Philippines, which annually attracts one of the world’s largest crowds for a religious devotion, attracted hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic pilgrims on Jan. 9. 

Taking place each year in January, the procession, known locally as “Traslacion,” sees devotees carry across Manila a replica of a famous life-size statue of Jesus carrying a black wooden cross. The Philippines and East Timor are the only countries in Asia that are majority Catholic, with over 80% of the population of the Philippines belonging to the Church.

The procession’s organizers estimated that about 220,000 people attended Mass before the start of the procession, Rappler reported, and at least 800,000 people were gathered at the church Thursday evening, according to the Philippine Star. Hundreds of thousands more joined the procession as it went by.

As in past years, many of the devotees were barefoot and some even jumped onto the float and clutched at the cross carried by the famous statue.

Rappler interviewed a 26-year-old British tourist at the procession, Adan Jeffrey, who said he was raised Catholic but now identifies as an atheist.

“I’ve never seen anything like it … the devotion that they have to wait that amount of time to kiss the statue is pretty phenomenal,” Jeffrey said. 

“I’ve never had a passion toward anything like these people have toward religion. So it’s amazing to see really, it’s an eye-opener.”

The Black Nazarene tradition was severely disrupted for several years by the COVID-19 pandemic; in 2020, 2021, and 2022 the procession was essentially canceled entirely. In 2023, an estimated 103,277 faithful participated, far fewer than in past years.

Last year’s procession, in January 2024, marked a return to the procession’s typical size and fervor after three years of drastic downsizing. Also that year, the statue was placed in a glass case for the first time, and participants were banned from getting onto the float as they have in previous years, though many ignored the directive, UCA News, a Catholic Asian news site, reported at the time.

The image of Jesus used in the procession is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Filipino shores in 1606 by missionaries of the Order of Augustinian Recollects. The life-size statue of Jesus is today enshrined in the famous minor basilica popularly known as the Quiapo Church, located in the Archdiocese of Manila. First enshrined at St. John the Baptist Church in Luneta, the image was transferred to Quiapo in 1868.

The statue has survived fires that destroyed the church twice, two earthquakes, the floods of numerous typhoons, and bombings during World War II. Quiapo Church receives thousands of Catholics every day for Mass and confession.