Eyewear store owner says Nazareno ‘blessed’ them with business success

LIVE UPDATES: Feast of the Jesus Nazareno

Eyewear store owner Rosalinda Kumar says Jesus Nazareno “blessed” them with the success of their business, paying it back by offering free food and drinks to devotees in the vicinity of Quiapo Church on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. INQUIRER.net / JASON SIGALES

MANILA, Philippines — Many believe the Holy Image of Jesus Nazareno has miraculous powers — to heal, to protect, to grant wishes.

For this woman and her family business, Jesus Nazareno gave them prosperity.

Rosalinda Kumar, 65, with her late husband, Mike, opened an eyewear store 30 years ago in the district surrounding the Basilica Minor and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church.

While Kumar does not identify as a devotee, she does regularly attend Holy Mass at the Quiapo Church. Then about a decade after setting up shop in the district, they started giving out food and drinks to hungry and thirsty devotees for the Feast of Jesus Nazareno every January 9.

Twenty years of helping devotees later, their eyewear store expanded enough to tout a staff of 70 individuals with a second branch just blocks down Paterno Street in Quiapo.

Staff of an eyewear store give out sandwiches and cups of juice to Nazareno devotees in the vicinity of Quiapo Church on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 9, 2025. INQUIRER.net / JASON SIGALES

“Dati maliit lang yung store namin. Mula nung namimigay kami, nabigyan kami ng Diyos ng biyaya,” Kumar said.

Kumar continued their tradition this year, giving out a total of 10,000 sandwiches with cups of juice to devotees in the vicinity of Quiapo Church.

READ: Nazareno 2025: Quiapo business owners give free food, drinks to devotees

When the “Andas” or the carriage bearing the Holy Image of Jesus Nazareno arrives at Quiapo Church, Kumar plans on joining the crowd in prayer.

She said, “Mananalangin kami na tuloy-tuloy dapat yung negosyo namin, na tuloy-tuloy kami mamimigay every year para maganda.”

(Later, we will pray that our business continues to prosper, that we can continue to do charity every year so it can be nice.)

READ: Traslacion 2025: Almost 200,000 devotees in vicinity of Quiapo Church

Nearly 200,000 devotees are in the Quiapo Church area as of 12 noon on Thursday, according to the Nazareno Operations Center.

The Traslacion is the grand procession every January 9 that commemorates the transfer of the centuries-old Holy Image of Jesus Nazareno from Quirino Grandstand, which was then Bagumbayan, to the Quiapo Church.

It is the culmination of the week-long festivities in celebration of the Feast of Jesus Nazareno.