The feast of the Black Nazarene is celebrated by millions of devotees and is considered to be one of the most spectacular religious events taking place in Roman Catholic Philippines.
On January 9, 2008, an estimated 2.4 million devotees from all walks of life came to the Quiapo district in Manila to take part in the procession as a way of strengthening their faith and fulfilling their panata (vow) to Jesus Christ.
The 400-year-old life-sized statue of the Black Nazarene is housed at the Saint John de Baptist Church in Quiapo since 1787. The image survived the great fires that destroyed the church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the destructive bombings of Manila in 1945 during World War II.
In 1998, a replica of the Black Nazarene was substituted to the original because of the repeated damages inflicted on the statue by oceans of devotees. Today, the replica is still being used in the processions while the original rests inside the church.
'Viva Señor!'
