TOUCH AND GO Devotees of the Black Nazarene troop to Quirino Grandstand in Manila to touch the feet of the image of Jesus Christ and a part of the cross as the traditional kissing (“pahalik”) of the image in this file photo taken in January 2023. On the first day of “pahalik” on January 7, 2025, over 9,000 devotees participate in this event. INQUIRER file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 9,404 devotees have visited the Quirino Grandstand in Manila for the first day of the“pahalik,” the religious activity of kissing and touching the image of Jesus Nazarene.
According to the Quiapo Church‘s Nazareno Operations Center, the figure is from 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
The latest crowd estimate from the Manila Police District (MPD) said that as of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 1,000 individuals were at the grandstand for the “pahalik.”
According to the MPD, church officials opened the ”Pahalik” at 8:05 p.m. on Monday, even though it was scheduled to begin at midnight Tuesday.
READ: Nazareno 2025: ‘Pahalik’ starts ahead of schedule
The celebration started early “in case devotees are forming a line” after the Mass for the Nazareno 2025 Volunteers on Monday evening, Quiapo Church communications coordinator Silgen Cabrito told reporters in a Viber group.
The pahalik will run until Jan. 9, after which is the Traslacion, the traditional grand procession of the image from Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church.
READ: Nazarene feast: What devotees need to know for Traslacion 2025
Last year’s Traslacion saw over 6.5 million devotees flocking to the procession to see the image of Jesus Nazarene.