‘Walk of Faith’ to be held on eve of Black Nazarene feast –Quiapo Church

A procession called the “Walk of Faith” will be held on the eve of the Black Nazarene feast next year, the Quiapo Church announced on Friday.

Quiapo Church spokesman Fr. Earl Allyson Valdez said the church’s image of the black Jesus Christ would not be included in the activity on January 8, as the traditional Traslacion remained suspended.

“We will not process the image of the Black Nazarene. We instead encourage devotees to bring their own miniature replicas that they use for prayer and devotion,” Valdez said in a statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) post on Thursday.

“This Walk of Faith is done in order for us to gradually return to the practice of having a procession in honor of the Black Nazarene, but due to the pandemic, sans the image and with restrictions,” he added.

Valdez also encouraged devotees who would join the procession from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church to bring candles, rosaries, and face masks.

He said that the religious procession will start at midnight “to prevent clogging of entry and exit points in Quiapo Church.”

The route of the activity is still being finalized.

The Quiapo Church spokesperson said they were coordinating with local authorities to ensure an orderly procession.

“All the activities of the festivity will resume except the traditional procession or the Traslacion,” Valdez said.

“In a way, it is also a gradual resumption of activities, perhaps in preparation for the actual Traslacion in years to come,” he added.

The traditional Traslacion woul be suspended again in January 2023 — the third consecutive year the annual event marking the Feast of the Black Nazarene was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Traslacion is the procession that carries the image of the Black Nazarene from the Quirino Grandstand back to the Quiapo Church and takes place annually on January 9.

As for the health protocols at the Quiapo Church, Valdez said churchgoers were still advised to wear their face masks inside, and there would also be separate entry and exit points to maintain physical distancing. — DVM, GMA Integrated News