Filtered By: Topstories
News

Over 5M turn up for Nazarene parade ahead of papal visit


(Updated 7:43 p.m.) More than five million barefoot devotees paraded a centuries-old icon of Jesus Christ through Manila Friday in a loud, heaving paroxysm of religious fervour ahead of Pope Francis's visit to Asia's bastion of Christianity.

The mammoth procession, estimated by the Philippine Red Cross at 5.5 million people, crawled at a near-snail's pace along Manila's old quarter as devotees risked life and limb for the privilege of pulling the fat rope that moved the float forward.

Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno also said the crowd was at more than five million but the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council estimated it could be more than nine million, GMA News' 24 Oras reported early Friday evening.

City officials and the Philippine Red Cross said a man died from heart attack and more than 600 others were treated for various injuries as the crowd wriggled past trash-strewn streets in light rain and overcast skies.
 
The procession is expected to last well into the night.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has said that the Black Nazarene Feast will be  a "dry run" for the city's crowd control and other security preparations for Pope Francis' visit from January 15 to 19.

The Pope is scheduled to stay at the Apostolic Nunciature, just a few kilometers away from the Manila City Hall, during his stay in the country. 

Millions of people are also expected to attend the Pope's scheduled mass at the Quirino Grandstand, the starting point of the Black Nazarene procession on Friday. 

President Benigno Aquino III on Friday said the government was preparing for worst-case scenarios, including the possibility of a terrorist attack and a stampede, during Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines.
 
He said he wanted to prevent a surge of people trying to approach the Pope. 
 
“Doon puwedeng may masaktan. Doon puwedeng magkaroon ng pagkakataon ‘yung mga terorista, for instance, na makalapit si Papa. Hindi tayo puwedeng pumayag niyan,” the President told reporters in Romblon.

Vibrance of religion

In fervent displays of devotion, huge crowds of men, women and children chanted "Viva!" (Long live!) as they marched on trash-strewn streets in light rain for the annual procession of the Black Nazarene.
 
"The Lord is my healer," Lina Javal, 58, declared after waiting in line for hours to kiss the life-sized ebony statue, showing an AFP reporter the healed incision from throat surgery she underwent last month.
 
"It's an extraordinary feeling, it's like the Holy Spirit is entering my body," said the clerk from Laguna.
 
Many Filipinos believe the statue holds miraculous healing powers and make lifetime vows to join the annual parade, many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with an image of Christ crowned in thorns.
 
Eight in 10 of the Philippines' 100 million people are Catholics, and the Black Nazarene festival is a display of the vibrance of the religion ahead of the papal visit which begins on January 15.
 
More than last year

The National Capital Region Police Office gave a noontime estimate of just more than a million people for the Black Nazarene Feast.

Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) Director Susana Cruz told GMA News Online that one million showed up for the crowd at the Quirino Grandstand.

Cruz said it was difficult to estimate the total number of devotees that joined the feast but said it was more than the previous year.
 
She, however, said that the 5.5 million crowd estimate was not unlikely due to the amount of people who joined this year's feast.
 
“Napaka-laking crowd nito. Mas malaki talaga this year compared to last year... Pero talagang sumusunod sila, walang tulakan at hilaan,” Cruz said.
 
She said that at least 300,000 to 600,000 devotees were joining the procession every hour while at least 20,000 devotees were at the Quiapo Church, where the procession would end.
 
Cruz added that some 35,000 people are in front of the church at the Plaza Miranda while more devotees are located at the outskirts of various streets where the processions passed.
 
According to Cruz, there was a two-hour delay in the start of the procession supposedly scheduled at 6 a.m. so they are expecting the feast to end around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
 
Casualty, injuries

Earlier, tragedy struck after a devotee escorting the image died of heart attack. 
 
MDRRMC head Johnny Yu identified the fatality as Renato Gurion, 44. 
 
“Ang cause of death niya ay heart attack, mamamasan from Dimasalang (in Manila). Hindi siya naipit based sa initial report sa amin, tinamaan siya ng heart attack,” Yu said in an interview on GMA News TV's Balitanghali. 
 
The incident happened an hour after the Traslacion started and was still at the vicinity of Quirino Grandstand. 

Meanwhile, Cruz said there are currently 154 devotees who have been treated for various medical conditions including abrasions and fainting.

Earlier, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said at least 84 devotees were treated at the Quirino Grandstand for various medical conditions including hypertension and abrasions.
 
Six have died in the previous ten processions with 2010's procession being the deadliest having two fatalities. —Andrei Medina with a report from Agence France Presse/NB/RSJ/JST, GMA News
 
 
LOADING CONTENT