MANILA: The ‘Traslacion’ or the grand procession to celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene ended after nearly 15 hours at the Minor Basilica of Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila on Tuesday night.
According to the Quiapo Church Command Post, the official time of the whole procession was 14 hours and 59.10 minutes.
‘From 4:45 a.m., nag-end ang prusisyon ng Traslacion ng (the Traslacion ended at) 7:44 p.m. official time,’ it said.
The procession started at the Quirino Grandstand across Rizal Park and ended at the Minor Basilica in Quezon Boulevard.
‘So far, sa pagbabalik muli ng Traslacion, ito ang pinaka-maaga (So far, since the return of Traslacion, this was the earliest),’ the command post said.
It added that more than 6.5 million devotees attended the procession of the Black Nazarene, which was encased in laminated tempered glass for the first time.
‘Yes, kung bibilangin simula sa 5 a.m. data until 6 p.m., umaabot na po ng 6,532,501 ang procession (Yes, if we will count from 5 a.m. data until today 6
p.m., it reached 6,532,501 devotees who attended the procession),’ the report added.
According to the Philippine National Police, the movement of the “andas” or the carriage of the Black Nazarene image moved faster compared to previous years.
The holding of the grand procession returned after being suspended for three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, a Walk of Faith was held to celebrate the annual feast without the traditional grand procession.
No major incidents
The Philippine National Police (PNP) also said this year’s Traslacion, the fastest in recent history, was generally peaceful.
“Generally peaceful except for some reported illnesses and injuries sustained by some devotees and other spectators,” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a message Tuesday night, shortly after the procession ended before 8 p.m.
A total of 706 devotees who participated in the Feast of the Black Nazarene sought medical help, according to the Philippine Red Cross.
PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. a
lso said the security measures implemented for the observance “went according to plan” and that there were no major incidents that marred the occasion.
Source: Philippines News Agency