Nazareno devotees react as they try to block others from climbing on the glass-covered cart carrying the image of the Black Nazarene during its annual procession, which was resumed after a three-year suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Manila, Philippines. A mammoth crowd of mostly barefoot Catholic devotees joined a procession through downtown Manila Tuesday to venerate a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ. | PHOTO: AP
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) declared that this year’s Feast of the Black Nazarene was “generally peaceful.”
“Generally peaceful except for some reported minor illnesses and injuries sustained by devotees and other spectators,” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told reporters in a Viber message on Wednesday.
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During the traslacion or the religious grand procession of the Black Nazarene, many devotees were rescued by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
On Tuesday evening, the PRC reported attending to 643 individuals who needed medical or other assistance. Of the figure, 257 got their vital signs checked, 214 had minor medical issues, and six either sustained injuries or passed out.
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The PRC said its volunteers mainly had monitored cases of abrasions, burns, dizziness, punctures, lacerations, difficulty in breathing, and hypertension.
During the peak of the procession, at 7:44 p.m. on Tuesday, 6,113,598 devotees joined, according to the latest data from the Quiapo Church.