January 9: Feast day of the Black Nazarene
January 9 is the Feast day of the Black Nazarene, the patron saint of Quiapo. Quiapo is a small but well-known part of Manila. Muslims, Chinese, and Catholics live there in peace.
A short history of black nazarene: The Black Nazarene is a life-sized statue of Christ that a priest bought in Mexico, carved by an Aztec carpenter. The statue was brought to Manila in 1606. Since 1787 the statue has been housed at Saint John the Baptist Church in Quiapo.
The procession, and the accompanying Feast of the Black Nazarene, takes place every year on the ninth day of January. It is usually the single largest festival of the year in the Philippines.
For more than 200 years the church has been placing the statue on a gilded carriage every January and pulling it through the streets of Quiapo. People who touch it are reported to sometimes be healed of diseases. Catholics come from all over Manila on the chance that they will be able to get close enough to touch the image and perhaps receive a miracle. They also throw towels to the police who guard the statue and ask them to rub the towel on the statue in hopes of carrying some of that power away with them.
In 1998, a replica of the original Black Nazarene was first paraded due to the repeated damages on the statue. Today this replica is still used in the parades while the original rests inside the church.
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posted by Dan @ 3:49 PM
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