Philippines – Thousands join the “Black Nazarene” parade to receive blessing

Jones Bridge Area – Manila – Philippines 10/01/2019

Dozens of thousands of Christian Catholics have turned out on the streets of Manila in the Philippines for the procession of the Black Nazarene, where the annual parade witnesses devotees trying to catch a glimpse of the historic statue of Jesus of Nazareth to get blessing and celebrate the “solemn transfer”. The devotees recreated the statue’s first official transfer in 1787, where it was transferred from its original tomb in a walled area in Intramuros to Quiapo in Manila. This statue, which was carved by an anonymous artist and shipped to the country in 1606, symbolizes a religious icon that relieves pain and cures illnesses, according to some believes, where citizens scramble to pull the rope of the cart for a chance to touch the statue briefly and sweep the picture all over their clothes and kiss it, even though it is dangerous and sometimes deadly.