A panorama shot of the Black Nazarene feast. MARC CAYABYAB/INQUIRER.net
Around one million devotees flocked to Quirino Grandstand early Friday for the Feast of the Black Nazarene, police said.
As of 9 a.m., Manila Police District information chief Marissa Bruno said that an estimated one million people have gathered in the grandstand where the ebony-hued statue started its slow journey to Quiapo Church.
As of press time, the Nazarene image is now in front of the Manila Hotel.
The statue started moving almost two hours after it was placed on the altar 6 a.m.
The Black Nazarene procession, also known as the “traslacion,” is an annual religious activity in the predominantly Catholic country.
Barefooted devotees, wearing maroon and yellow shirts, waved their handkerchiefs bearing the Nazarene’s face as they attempt to go near the statue and wipe the dark statue with their towels.
At least 3,500 police are deployed to secure the Black Nazarene feast.
The ebony-hued statue of Jesus was brought to Manila by Augustinian priests in 1607. It is said that it got its color after it got burnt in a fire that hit the Spanish galleon carrying it.
The procession commemorates the first parade transferring the statue from a church in Intramuros to Quiapo Church on January 9, 1767.
The Church expects 10 million devotees this year. The parade in 2014 was attended by 3 million devotees.
The parade lasted for 19 hours in 2014, 18 hours in 2013, and 22 hours in 2012.
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