MANILA: Hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims swarmed the streets of Manila in search of a miracle yesterday, straining to reach a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in an annual display of religious fervour.
The procession to the Philippine capital’s Quiapo Church, which started before dawn after an openair mass, was expected to swell to more than two million participants from across the heavily Catholic country, church officials said.
Barefoot men and women in maroon shirts — the colour of the robe that covers the black, wooden Jesus the Nazarene statue — scrambled to grab the rope used to draw the life-sized religious icon, believing it would bring good health.
Some faithful frantically threw white towels to worshippers tasked with guarding the float, hoping God’s blessings might rub off on the cloths used to clean the statue’s glass case.
While authorities have banned devotees from climbing on the carriage, some still clambered over other attendees, risking life and limb to be near the statue.
The giant religious parade commemorates the arrival of the wooden statue of the genuflecting Jesus the Nazarene from Acapulco, Mexico, in the early 1600s, shortly after the start of the Spanish colonial conquest.
Its colour — which has led it to be popularly known as the Black Nazarene — was believed to have been caused by a fire aboard the Spanish galleon that was transporting it.
President Ferdinand Marcos said the annual celebration of the icon was a “testament to our people’s solidarity and camaraderie”. “It also speaks of the immense power and compassion of God who walks with us and hears our prayers, especially in our time of need,” Marcos said in a statement. Police said about 14,500 security personnel had been deployed along the procession’s sixkilometre route as a precaution.
