The multitude of Black Nazarene devotees waited in line to have their replica images blessed at Plaza Miranda in front of the historic Quiapo Church in Manila yesterday.

The event marked the start of the activities in relation to the Feast of Black Nazarene in January 2023.

Parish priest Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr., alongside parochial vicars Fr. Robert Arellano and Fr. Hans Magdurulang, led the blessing of the replicas after a noontime Mass.

Also known as the Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno and the Poóng Itím na Nazareno, the larger-than-life image of a dark-skinned kneeling Jesus Christ carrying the cross en route to the crucifixion was said to have been carved by a Mexican and brought to Manila in 1606.

The Black Nazarene, enshrined at Quiapo Church since 1787 with its transfer from another church commemorated yearly as the Traslacion, has been credited by devotees for miracles.

Roads closed

In yesterday's replica blessings, the queue of icons and their owners stretched from beside the Quiapo Church in Evangelista corner Carriedo Streets to as far as Plaza Sta. Cruz, prompting authorities to close a portion of Carriedo and Rizal Avenue under the Light Rail Transit station.

Despite the long lines, many devotees, including Marvie Natividad, a resident of Marikina City, patiently awaited their turn.

"My vow is to continue (my devotion), as long as I can and I have the power to do so. I'll do the things that I have been saying in my prayers," said Natividad, a devotee for four decades already.

"I previously had a stroke, I brought myself to the Nazarene. Now, I can walk, because I could barely move and half of my face is swelling. This is my way of expressing my gratitude to the Nazarene,"
another devotee, Larding Lagmay, said.

Early birds

"Our deployment time was before noon, but when we came, we noticed that some devotees had already queued up much earlier. We applied the plan to close the roads in Lacson and Avenida northbound to place the replicas that will be queued for the blessing," Solas said.

"As we come to upcoming activities, including the Thanksgiving, Walk of Faith, until the end of the feast, we'll deploy more police because we believe that more people will gather ahead of the fiesta," Solas said.

Kicking off 'Nazareno 2023,' the blessing of replicas will run until Thursday, 29 December.

Following the blessing, Quiapo Church will also lead a motorcade procession at midnight on 31 December, as well as a series of novenas and tributes to the Nazarene until the first week of January.