Faith draws 2M to Black Nazarene procession

MANILA, Philippines–Faith makes all things possible.

But it does not come easy, especially for the multitudes who pushed, squeezed and jostled their way through the streets of Manila yesterday for a touch, a kiss or even just a glimpse of the miraculous Señor Nazareno of Quiapo.

Two male devotees died and more than 400 people were injured as hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees took part in the punishing annual act of devotion in which the centuries-old, life-sized wooden statue of a dark-skinned Christ carrying the Cross is paraded through the city streets in celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.

The wooden statue, carved in Mexico and brought to the Philippines in the early 17th century, is taken out of the Quiapo Church on Jan. 9 each year for what has come to be the largest religious procession in the country.

Police estimated that up to 2 million took part in the 5-kilometer procession or lined the streets to see the icon, dressed in maroon robes and paraded on a carriage in a festival that has been held for more than 200 years.

Many prayed for deliverance, others wished for goodhealth and fortune. Some hoped fervently for a miracle, and a few wanted to give thanks for the blessings of years past.

Second life

“This is my second life. I owe this life to Him,” said 61-year-old Bella Arocenas, who believes her prayers to the Nazarene healed her of a serious intestinal illness.

In 2002, doctors told the mother of eight that her large intestines were “eating into” her small intestines, prompting a major surgical procedure.

Out of the five patients at the Ospital ng Maynila who were operated on that day, Arocenas said she was the only one who survived. “I know it was my faith that saved me,” said Arocenas who has been joining the procession for the past 10 years.

She said she used to be among the frantic, desperate crowds that climbed up the carriage to kiss or touch the icon. But she doesn’t do that anymore. “I’m too old for that now,” she said. Instead, she is content to light a candle and say a prayer as the carriage passes by.

“The Black Nazarene gives us strength,” Zenaida Villasanta, 47, who was there with her two sisters to pray for another sick sibling. “We are praying that He will heal my sister. She has cancer and we pray for a miracle.”

Another devotee, Bernard Ponce, said he had joined the procession for two years to ask the Nazarene for another child.

New life

“It’s tiring, but after you go on the procession, you feel really good,” Ponce said. “It feels like a heavy weight is lifted, as if you’re starting a new life.”

Albert Sarmiento, 65, a devotee of over 30 years, observed that many people probably participated this year because of the series of calamities that brought death and destruction to the country last year.

“Many people are turning to religion after a year of disasters,” he said.

Saturday’s observance started with an early morning Mass at the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta before the procession inched its way to the Minor Basilica in Quiapo where consecutive Masses were said throughout the day.

The procession commemorates the transfer of the Black Nazarene from a church in Intramuros, the Old City, to Quiapo on Jan. 9, 1767.

In his homily, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales urged devotees of the Black Nazarene to live their lives according to Christ’s example.

He said they should live as Christ did—with simplicity, humility and charity.

Jesus the Nazarene “showed us how to live our lives,” he said.

He said the first lesson that Christ taught was to “lead a simple life.” He said greed leads to the overuse of natural resources that should be enough for mankind.

Jesus the Nazarene also taught the faithful to remain humble, he said. “He was a model of humility,” he said.

The third important lesson from Jesus is to be charitable and concerned with the needs of our fellow men, Rosales said.

Before the procession could even start, a commotion had started as devotees shoved their way to get closer to the icon, breaking a barrier of marshals. It took about 45 minutes for marshals and organizers to place the image on the carriage.

Even women

Several dozen carriages bearing smaller replicas of the Black Nazarene from various religious chapters preceded or tailed the main carriage, which was ringed by marshals.

Thick crowds of barefoot devotees wearing the devotional colors of maroon and gold surrounded the main carriage, pulling and tugging at the ropes.

Sweat-soaked men leaped or clambered over heads and shoulders but the marshals pushed them back into the thick crush below.

Even teenage girls and elderly women attempted to climb on the carriage.

“I was rolling like a merry-go-round,” a woman laughingly said after trying without success to touch the cross.

Rey Macam, 36, who has been joining the procession since 1997 and has seen some “small miracles” in his family, said he and his family opt to stay by the ropes, instead of climbing on the carriage.

“If that means getting stepped on, then that’s our sacrifice,” said Macam.

“The doctors saw something wrong with my three-month-old nephew’s liver and did tests on him, saying he might need to be operated on. Our family prayed to the Nazarene, and ON Friday the doctor said he didn’t need an operation after all,” he said.

Others believe that any discomfort or pain, even death, is part of the sacrifice.

The family of Rodrigo Omampo, a 43-year-old electrician from Barangay Palanan, Makati, who reportedly collapsed beside the main carriage, said his death was not in vain as he died while fulfilling his panata (devotional vow).

“We have no ill feelings even though they say the procession claims a life every year. To us, our brother had a good death because God took him on the day that he was fulfilling his vow,” said Mary Anne Pingol, Rodrigo’s younger sister.

His wife Imelda said Rodrigo had been a devotee of the Nazarene for many years but only started joining the religious procession in 2004.

“He was very excited the night before, he even prepared his clothes, particularly his maroon-colored shirt,” Imelda said. “He said he made a devotion to the Nazarene because of us, his family.”

Pingol believes her brother had also made a vow to pray for their father, who suffers from lung and heart ailments.

Casualties

Another casualty, Bernardino Basilio, 40, was initially reported as having died after he fell when he tried to climb the carriage.

But Dr. Wenjames Laureta, the officer on duty at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, said Basilio was taken to the hospital before dawn Saturday, a few hours before the procession started at 8 a.m.
He was apparently saving a spot for watching when the procession would pass by.

More than 400 people were rushed to various hospitals and first-aid stations. Most of them had fainted from hunger and exhaustion, while others sustained foot injuries.

An 80-year-old woman identified as Adelina Bautista of Pasay City reportedly suffered a head trauma when she was accidentally hit on the head with a steel bar.

By noon, police said the crowd had swelled to 1.5 million. By 5:30 p.m. as the procession approached Quiapo Church, Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, Manila Police District director, said it was safe to say that the number had peaked at 2 million based on the length of the streets covered with people. With a report from Dona Pazzibugan and Reuters

By DJ Yap, Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer