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The Black Nazarene (Poong itim na Nazareno)
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More than 12 million devotees are expected to join the annual
“traslacion” procession of the Black Nazarene from Luneta to Quiapo Church this Tuesday.
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| San Sebastian, Recoletos St. - January 9, 2014, Traslación of the Black Nazarene (myrns.roman) |
Every year on January 9 during Fiesta in Quiapo, millions of Filipino devotees gather in Manila for a procession of the Black Nazarene, a life-sized statue of a suffering Jesus fallen under the weight of the cross, along a 6.5 km route from Rizal (Luneta) Park to the minor basilica in Quiapo.
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| Quiapo Church, January 9, 2014, Traslación of the Black Nazarene (myrns.roman) |
The procession reenacts a seemingly minor historical event, the 1787 solemn Translacion, or transfer, of the image from its original home, where Rizal Park is now located, to its present home at the basilica in Quiapo. With the namamasan, the barefoot rope bearers who pull the carriage bearing the Black Nazarene statue, push their way through the crowds.
Most Filipino Catholics consider the Nazarene statue to be miraculous, able to heal terminal cancers and other sicknesses, to grant petitions, and to help those in need.
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| Photo : Jim Guiao Punzalan |
Schedule of 2018 activities of Feast of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo
The official Facebook Page of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo released the list of activities for the upcoming Traslacion.
Last December 31, 2 am – Thanksgiving Procession and December 31 to January 8, 6 pm – Novena Mass
January 7, 1:30 pm – Replica procession
January 9, 12 mn – Eucharistic Celebration at Quirino Grandstand. Fr Hernando Coronel is the presider of the mass while Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will give the homily.
January 9, 5 am – After the morning prayer at 5 am, Traslacion starts from Luneta to Quiapo Church.
Historical background
An image of the Black Nazarene, carved of mesquite wood by an anonymous Mexican sculptor, arrived in Manila in the mid 1600s. The statue was partially destroyed in 1945 during the liberation of Manila in World War II. The Archdiocese of Manila commissioned a renowned Filipino santero, or saint carver, Gener Manlaqui, to sculpt the present day replica, using the original head.
The Black Nazarene statue was brought to Manila by the first group of Augustinian Recollect friars on May 31, 1606. The image was originally housed in the first Recollect church in Bagumbayan (now part of the Rizal Park), which was established on September 10, 1606, and placed under the patronage of Saint Juan Bautista Saint John the Baptist.
In 1608, the image of the "Nazareno" was transferred to the second, bigger Recollect church dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino (Saint Nicholas of Tolentine). The Recollect Fathers dynamically promoted devotion to the Suffering of Our Lord represented by the image that in fifteen short years, the Cofradia de Santo Cristo Jesús Nazareno was established on April 21, 1621. The confraternity obtained Papal approval on April 20, 1650, from Pope Innocent X.
In the year 1787, then Archbishop of Manila, Basilio Sancho de Santas Junta y Rufina, ordered the transfer of the image of the Nazareno to the church in Quiapo, again providently placed under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist.
The Black Nazarene made a lot of miraculous things. These are the survival of the image from the great fires that destroyed Quiapo Church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the destructive Bombing of Manila in 1945 during World War II. Today the head and the cross stay on the Altar Mayor of the Minor Basilica, and the original body image of the Black Nazarene is used in the processions. Other, even smaller replica can be found in other churches.
The Quiapo church uses a main hymn to the Black Nazarene that has been composed by Lucio San Pedro
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno,
(Our Father Jesus Nazarene)
Sinasamba ka namin (We worship you)
Pinipintuho ka namin (we admire you)
Aral mo ang aming buhay (Your lessons are our life)
at Kaligtasan (and our salvation)
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
(Our Father Jesus Nazarene)
Iligtas mo kami sa Kasalanan
(Please save us from our sins)
Ang Krus mong Kinamatayan ay
(Your cross from which you died on)
Sagisag ng aming Kaligtasan
(is the sign of our Salvation)
Chorus:
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
(Our Father Jesus Nazarene)
Dinarangal ka namin (We honor you)
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
(Our Father Jesus Nazarene)
Nilul'walhati ka namin (We glorify you)
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
(Our Father Jesus Nazarene)
Dinarangal ka namin (We honor you)
Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
(Our Father Jesus Nazarene)
Nilul'walhati ka namin (We glorify you)
There are religious celebrations anywhere in the world can match this feast in terms of the number and fervor of devotees surrounding the procession.
