Procession of Black Nazarene begins

After staying the night before at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, the image of the Black Nazarene embarked on its procession Tuesday morning back to the Quiapo Church accompanied by thousands of devotees. Women devotees at the front of the procession helped pull the carroza (carriage) while guards had a hard time discouraging some devotees from clambering aboard. Despite the organizers' repeated pleas for a more orderly procession, throngs of people pushed their bodies closer to the rope hoping to receive blessings from the Black Nazarene. Devotees unable to approach neither the carriage nor the rope during the procession toss their white towels to the guardians of the Nazarene. The guardians in turn rub the towel on the statue to gain blessings then throw it back to the crowd. Others who could not pull the carroza contented themselves with following the procession on foot, singing the Ama Namin (Our Father) while carrying small images of the Santo Niño (Christ Child) and small crucifixes. The procession made its way to the Quiapo Church via a prepared route that includes several parts of Manila near the Quiapo district and was to reach the church by 8 p.m., dzBB radio reported. As of Tuesday morning, devotees continued to flock to the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta and to the Quiapo Church, this time from the provinces. Many of the devotees from Southern Luzon and Bicol passed Osmeña Highway near the South Expressway. Before the procession, however, devotees at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta cried foul over a T-shirt distribution method employed by former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez. Radio station dzBB reported Tuesday morning that many devotees were angry upon joining a long queue to kiss or touch the image of the Nazarene, only to end up before Jimenez's aides. Jimenez's aides were at the time distributing T-shirts with Jimenez's slogan "Hulog ng Langit (Blessing from Heaven)," the report said. The current life-sized statue of the Black Nazarene is a replica of the original artwork brought to Manila from Mexico in 1606. Church officials introduced the procession replica in 1998. The original statue had been battered from wear and tear, as devotees scramble to touch the Black Nazarene because of its supposed healing powers. It remains inside the Quiapo Church. Touching the Nazarene, or even coming into contact with a cloth rubbed on the statue, is believed to bestow healing upon those of strong faith. - GMANews.TV