By DHEL NAZARIO, LESLIE G. AQUINO
A throng of barefoot, towel-waving devotees chanting “Viva Nazareno (Long live Nazarene)!” joined the annual Traslacion of the image of the Black Nazarene yesterday in an enduring test of faith.
In a frenzied display of religious fervor, men, women, and children climbed over heads and shoulders and flung themselves at the centuries-old Black Nazarene that they say performs miracles.
Drawn by devotees pulling on thick ropes attached to its carriage, the religious icon left the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park at 5 a.m. yesterday after the Liturgy for Procession or the morning prayer.
Devotees believe that touching and wiping the image of the Black Nazarene can cure even the most severe illnesses. Some, however, joined the procession as a way of showing their gratitude to the Black Nazarene for all their blessings.
“It is really tough climbing to get to the Nazarene. I get squished, and people step on my face. But I have a devotion,” Honey Pescante, a 24-year-old housewife from Bataan, told AFP.
A devotee for 30 years, 61-year-old Julio Castillo watched from the sidelines of the procession after both his feet were fractured in a motorcycle accident last month, leaving him in a wheelchair.
“I came here because this is my devotion. I hope my family will have good health and a prosperous life, that we will have no illness and I will heal,” he said.
Unlike in previous years, the start of the Traslacion was more orderly as the “mamamasans” and the “Hijos” were able to smoothly transfer the Nazareno to His “andas” or carriage without trouble and on schedule.
Father Douglas Badong, the Parochial Vicar of Quiapo Church, nearly cried because of what he saw.
In the past, the “mamamasans” always had difficulty in transferring the image to the “andas” as devotees race to the stage to get near the Black Nazarene.
“This is a unique experience. It’s not the usual scene of devotees in chaos. Today, we saw a peaceful stage,” said Badong in an interview.
Devotees also noted the quick pace of the procession and how the carriage swiftly made its way out of the sea of humanity on Katigbak Drive before trudging Padre Burgos Street.
CHALLENGE
The risky behavior of devotees has drawn frequent criticisms, with some saying it resembles pagan worship.
But church officials and sociologists say devotees see the event as a challenge.
“Filipino Catholicism follows the belief that the presence of a higher being can only be made real through the body and via the material,” Maria Yohana Frias, an ethnology researcher at the National Museum of the Philippines, told AFP.
“Enduring a challenging procession where devotees walk barefoot is also seen as a test of faith for some.”
The Black Nazarene was brought to Manila by missionaries in 1606 and is believed to have survived disasters and calamities.
“Filipinos who come to Quiapo… get a sense of being near the Lord, of the Lord touching them, and of the Lord accompanying them… through difficult challenges,” Quiapo church parochial vicar Father Marvin Cruz told AFP.
TIGHT SECURITY
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deployed more than 6,000 personnel, including snipers and bomb squads backed by a surveillance helicopter and drones, to secure the Black Nazarene procession.
Authorities say no specific terrorist threat has been monitored, but early on more than 600 devotees have already been treated, mostly for minor injuries and exhaustion.
The Philippine Red Cross provided first-aid services to the injured devotees. (With reports from AFP, Jaimie Rose Aberia, Reuters, AP, and Analou de Vera)
