MANILA, Philippines–The administration of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, also known as Quiapo Church, denied reports that the wheel at the back end of the andas carrying the ebony-hued statue of Jesus Christ broke during the procession held on Friday.
In a tweet posted on its official Twitter account, Quiapo Church said the claim made by some devotees as reported by various media outlets is not true.
“Hindi po totoo,” the Quiapo Church Twitter account replied to one of the tweets saying that a wheel of the andas was damaged.
A broken wheel of the andas will mean a longer time for the allegedly miraculous image to return to its shrine.
The last time that the wheels of the carriage of the Black Nazarene broke was in 2012 which resulted in a 22 hour-long procession, the longest in the church’s history.
Meanwhile, the statue of the ebony-hued Jesus Christ has crossed Jones Bridge as of 5:15 p.m. and is currently traversing Dasmariñas Street going to Palanca Street.
The procession of the centuries-old statue of the Black Nazarene, one of the largest religious gatherings in the country, attracted an estimated one million devotees during the start of the procession held at Quirino Grandstand Friday morning.
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