Coast Guard on heightened alert for Black Nazarene feast

REPLICA BLESSING Holy water rains down on miniature Black Nazarene replicas in front of Quiapo Church on Monday. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will be on heightened alert for the Feast of the Black Nazarene.

In a statement, the Coast Guard said the PCG District of the National Capital Region will be on heightened alert from January 7 to January 9.

The PCG said it will be monitoring waterways crossed by the Jones Bridge, MacArthur Bridge, Quezon Bridge, and Ayala Bridge to prevent accidents.

Coast Guard assets like fast patrol boats, aluminum boats, rubber boats, rigid hull inflatable boats, and ferry boats will be deployed in the said areas.

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

For the third consecutive time, the Traslacion or the Black Nazarene procession has been cancelled. It was first cancelled in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country.

The annual procession is a reenactment of the 1787 Traslacion  or the solemn transfer of the Black Nazarene image from its original shrine in Bagumbayan (now present Rizal Park) to the Quiapo Church.

However, other Black Nazarene feast activities will resume, such as the hourly celebration of the Holy Mass at the Quiapo Church and the Mass at the Quirino Grandstand to be organized by the Archdiocese of Manila, according to Fr. Earl Valdez, attached priest of the Quiapo Church.

Instead of the traditional “Pahalik,” where the Black Nazarene’s image is kissed, devotees are allowed to just touch the image, Valdez said.

Instead of the Traslacion, there will be a “Walk of Faith” procession from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church. The image of the Black Nazarene will not be present in the “Walk of Faith.” Devotees are however allowed to bring hand carried small replicas of Black Nazarene image (2 feet and below), rosaries, and other small religious images.

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