With the country reeling from a deadly storm and continuous political and economic troubles, the Catholic Church and local security officials are expecting a bigger procession this year of the Black Nazarene.
Not less than eight million devotees of the Black Nazarene are expected to join the biggest religious festivity in Manila on Monday for a glimpse or a touch of the miraculous image, according to Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, rector of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene.
The crowd projection is bigger than last year’s celebration, which drew more than 7 million faithful who endured an erratic weather and muscled their way through the streets of Manila to bring the icon to the basilica, its home for 404 years.
In a press briefing Tuesday, Ignacio said the number of devotees continued to grow every year, with more dioceses in various parts of the country requesting for their own pilgrim image of the mulatto Christ to be paraded in provinces.
He said more Filipinos were starting to realize the importance of the devotion to the Black Nazarene, a symbol of unwavering hope and resilience.
“If you must notice, the icon is a snapshot of Jesus rising again after the fall … so there is an element of hope, which Filipinos can identify themselves with,” explained Ignacio.
He added that all the prayers and suffering during the long procession will also include the intentions of the thousands of grieving families in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Dumaguete cities, which bore the brunt of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said that since the number of devotees to flock to Manila next week was expected to be bigger, the security plan that the local police have drawn up was as stringent as securing a president’s inauguration.
The Manila Police District will deploy 1,000 personnel to ensure peace and order throughout the celebration. Other districts in the capital will lend a hand by fielding 600 more policemen to provide additional security.
The image’s journey back to Quiapo Church will start at 8 a.m. on Monday, following a Holy Mass to be led by newly installed Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle.
Following its traditional route, the procession will wind through more than 20 of Manila’s crowded streets to commemorate the “Traslacion,” or the transfer of the Black Nazarene from a church in Intramuros to Quiapo in 1767.