500,000 to 1M expected at Penafrancia feast

LEGAZPI CITY – Bicol’s pilgrim city of Naga will host half a million devotees and pilgrims on Friday, Sept. 13, for the traslacion procession which marks the start of the week-long Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the region’s patroness.

Renne Gumba, manager of the Joint Operations Center, said authorities are expecting the number of devotees and pilgrims to double throughout the week.

“There will be more or less 500,000 devotees. The number [will reach] the million mark when counted for the entire duration of the festival,” Gumba told Inquirer.

During traslacion, the image of “Ina”—Bicol region’s endearing name for Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia —is transferred from the Peñafrancia Shrine to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral or the St. John the Evangelist Parish.

The theme for the 309th celebration of Peñafrancia Festival is “Doing Christ’s Mission with Youthful Hearts with Mary.”

An 11-day gun ban has been imposed in Naga City since Wednesday, Sept. 11, for the feast. A liquor ban was also imposed. Rey Anthony Ostria/TSB