2023 Black Nazarene expected to draw 5 million devotees – MPD

MANILA, Philippines — Even without the “Traslacion,” the Manila Police District (MPD) is still expecting participants in the Black Nazarene celebration to reach the pre-pandemic level of around 5 million devotees.

“Sa taong ito, ay the same crowd estimate noong pre-pandemic pa na umaabot ng limang milyon from 31 December to January 9,” MPD Director Police Brigadier General Andre Dizon said in a chance interview.

(For this year, we are expecting the same crowd estimate during the pre-pandemic, which reached 5 million from December 31 to January 9.)

“So ‘yun po ang in-a-acount po natin… So, most probably ganoon karami ang deboto,” Dizon also said.

(So that’s our calculation… So, most probably, the number of devotees will reach that number.)

The annual 10-day observance of the Feast of Black Nazarene begins on December 31 and will culminate on January 9.

Traslacion, which means “solemn transfer,” is a reenactment of the 1787 cortege of the image of the Black Nazarene from its original shrine in Bagumbayan, the present Rizal Park, to the Quiapo Church. For the third year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Philippines in 2020, the Traslacion will not be conducted again.

But other activities for the Feast of the Black Nazarene will resume this 2023, such as the hourly celebration of the Holy Mass at the Quiapo Church and the Mass at the Quirino Grandstand headed by the Archdiocese of Manila, according to Fr. Earl Valdez, attached priest of Quiapo Church.

Also, instead of the traditional “Pahalik,” devotees can just approach and touch the image of the Black Nazarene, Valdez added.

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