Traslacion suspended anew in 2022 as threats of pandemic stay
FILE PHOTO: Devotees wait outside the Quiapo Church for the return of the Black Nazarene during Traslacion 2019. INQUIRER.NET
MANILA, Philippines — The Traslacion of the Black Nazarene on January 9, 2022, is being suspended anew as dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic remain.
READ: Quiapo Church announces schedule of Nazareno 2023 activities
Fr. Douglas Badong, parochial vicar of the Minor Basilica of Black Nazarene, also known as Quiapo Church, clarified though that the celebration of Feast of the Black Nazarene would continue and only the procession is being canceled.
The Traslacion was also suspended this year due to the pandemic.
“Prusisyon lang naman ang wala, pero tuloy naman ang celebration,” Badong told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview, noting that other activities like Holy Masses will still push through.
(Only the procession is canceled, but the celebration will continue.)
Badong also pointed out that the Quirino Grandstand — which is the starting point of the procession — is still being used as a COVID-19 field hospital.
The procession, which a times last for almost 24 hours, begins at the Quirino Grandstand and ends at Quiapo Church.
READ: Black Nazarene back in Quiapo Church after 22-hour procession
The Traslacion, believed to have miraculous powers, usually attracts millions of barefoot Catholic faithful who accompany the image in its journey.
The annual procession is a reenactment of the 1787 Traslacion— literally means “solemn transfer” — of the image from its original shrine in Bagumbayan, the present Rizal Park, to the Quiapo Church.
The original statue of Black Nazarene arrived in Manila from Mexico on May 31, 1606. The image was carved from mesquite wood by an unknown sculptor.
It was partially destroyed in 1945 during the battle for Manila in the Second World War. A replica, which was made by a renowned saint carver Gener Maglaqui, used the original head of the image.
Traslacion’s cancellation in January this year was the first in decades, according to Badong.
“Tuloy pa din tayo sa pagdadasal. ‘Pag ninais ng Nazareno na lumabas, ay lalabas siya,” Badong said.
(Let’s keep on praying. If the Black Nazarene wants to come out, He will come out.)
