9.6M devotees attended Traslacion 2026 activites—Quiapo Church

A total of 9,640,290 devotees participated in the Feast of Jesus Nazareno, which culminated with the Traslacion that ended after nearly 31 hours, the Quiapo Church said.

"Meron tayo sa Quirino Grandstand. Yung mga um-attend ng Misa. Then meron tayong nine-day Novena Masses at 'yung Misa Mayor, cinonsider natin doon. So all in all, we arrive at 9.6 [million], and so far, this is the biggest number of devotees who participated in our activities," Nazareno 2026 spokesperson Father Robert Arellano said in a press conference.

(We have activities at the Quirino Grandstand, those who attended Masses. Then we have the nine-day Novena Masses and the Misa Mayor, they were considered. So all in all, we arrive at 9.6 [million].)

The Quiapo Church administration, meanwhile, reported a total of 1,057 medical cases during the Traslacion.

The image entered the gate of the Quiapo Church at about 10:50 a.m.

This year's Traslacion started at Quirino Grandstand at 4 a.m. on Friday and lasted for 30 hours and 50 minutes, based on monitoring of the festival's livestream.

The previous Traslacion in 2025 lasted 20 hours and 45 minutes and was attended by an estimated 8.1 million devotees, according to police estimates.

Church officials on Friday had said the Traslacion moved slower through its route as devotees were converging at the front of the andas, or the carriage bearing the Jesus Nazareno image.

Initially, the procession moved quickly, matching the 2024 pace of about one kph from the Quirino Grandstand to the National Museum.

However, the one-kilometer stretch from Finance Road through Ayala Boulevard and across Ayala Bridge took more than six hours to complete, making it slower than the 2025 pace.

Meanwhile, at least two devotees of Jesus Nazareno have died amid this year's Traslacion, according to the NCRPO. 

Authorities have yet to release additional information about these deaths, but the NCRPO has confirmed that the list does not include the photojournalist who passed away on Friday while covering the procession, according to GMA Integrated News reporter Jhomer Apresto. —VAL, GMA Integrated News