“We live a hands-to-mouth existence, but our daily concern to provide food and education to our children makes us draw strength from meditating on the suffering of Jesus,” said the homemaker, who is married to a street vendor.
Every year on January 9, the streets of the Filipino capital are invaded by crowds of faithful, celebrating the ‘Black Nazarene’, one of the liveliest popular traditions the country’s Catholic community has. The life-sized black wooden figure representing Christ bearing the cross to Calvary is carried through the streets of Manila. Thousands of faithful follow, believing in its ‘miraculous” powers.
This morning at 7 am, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, archbishop of Manila, celebrated Mass together with about 50 bishops and priests.
The prelate said that many Filipinos, who live in poverty and suffering, are devoted to the Black Nazarene because they identify with him, and thus follow the sculpture as it makes its way through the city.
The figure arrived in the Philippines on May 31, 1606, when the first Augustinian missionaries set foot in Manila. Carved in Mexico, it depicts the Saviour kneeling under the weight of the cross.
Its fame comes from surviving a fire that destroyed the missionaries’ ship that brought it to the country.
This year the procession route was changed a bit to avoid incidents. Last year two people were crushed to death by the crowds. Many people in fact do their utmost to get to a good spot from which they can see, and if they are lucky, touch the sculpture.
First aid stations were set up and more than 1,500 police agents were deployed with global positioning satellite devices to make it easier to track the flow of people and ensure safety.