MANILA, Philippines -- The holy mass for the Black Nazarene at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila was interrupted briefly, as thousands of devotees eager to touch the miraculous image untimely rushed to the statue.

Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, who celebrated the mass, stopped the ceremony, which the devotees didn?t seem to mind.

As of posting time, devotees, mostly barefoot and clad in maroon shirts, have filled the grandstand for the annual religious feast in which prayers are offered to the Black Nazarene in the hope that these would be answered.

Police barricading the area could not control the crowd that rushed to the life-sized statue.

Police Director Leopoldo Bataoil of the National Capital Region Police Office said he ordered an additional 500 police for crowd control.

At least 800 policemen have been deployed to the grandstand alone.

Meanwhile, Rosales said during his homily that Filipinos could identify with the Black Nazarene, an image of God?s suffering.

"Nakikita niya ang kaniyang sarili kapag siya ay salat, kapag siya ay inaapi [The poverty-strricken and oppressed Filipino sees himself in the Black Nazarene]," Rosales said of the Filipinos' devotion.

Rosales said that like the Black Nazarene, Filipinos also have their own crosses to bear.

After the mass, the procession will pass through Burgos St., left at Taft Avenue, McArthur Bridge, going to Rizal Ave, right at Claro M. Recto, right again at Legarda, right at Arlegui St., left at Quezon Blvd, right at Palanca St., right again at Villalobos towards Plaza Miranda.