I ASKED a Filipino man who was participating in a ‘Traslacion’ procession of the Black Nazarene in the streets of Manila during my last trip to the Philippines why he has a deep devotion to the image.
He responded, “Jesus Nazareno heard my prayers, Father.”
“What were your prayers to him?” I queried on.
“I was having marital problems because I could not get a permanent job. My son was also getting addicted to drugs. I was getting depressed. Then I decided to pray the novena to Jesus Nazareno and to join the image’s annual procession in Quiapo to help me with my problems. I could not believe that Jesus Nazareno heard my prayers, Father. I have a permanent job now, my marriage problems are resolved and my son is well. So now, every year I participate in the procession and continue to ask favors from him.”
Such is the faith of this devotee to the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila and the other million people who show up in the streets of Manila each year on January 9 to participate in the ‘Traslacion,’ a 20-hour-long procession of the Black Nazarene.
Bringing their statuettes or replica images of the Black Nazarene, AlJazeera News reported that devotees would “endure sleep deprivation, extreme heat, hunger, and even injuries during the procession of the statue for a chance to touch, kiss, or simply feel close to the Black Nazarene.”
I witnessed this scenario too when I found myself last year in the middle of a wave of devotees, mostly young men, parading barefoot around the image of the Black Nazarene. We were like bees swarming around the statue. It was an amazing experience—a demonstration of religious piety that is unfathomable for many people.
This devotion to the Black Nazarene (Spanish: El Nazareno Negro, Padre Jesus Nazareno; Filipino: Poong Itim na Nazareno) started in the Philippines in the mid-1600s when the image arrived in Manila through galleon from Acapulco, Mexico. The image, which is dark and carved from a mesquite wood by an unknown Mexican artist, depicts Jesus bearing the cross on his way to crucifixion. It is a life-sized statue that is considered miraculous. From then on replicas of this image have been carved. Wikipedia gives an account of the history of this image:
“The older and more popular copy belonging to the Recollects was destroyed in the Second World War during the Liberation in Manila in 1945. The surviving image has been enshrined in the Minor Basilica for centuries, withstanding several fires, earthquakes, and war…The present-day statue enshrined in Quiapo Church is, in fact, a composite of the original head and replica sculpted by renowned santero (saint-maker) Gener Magalaqui, as commissioned by the Archdiocese of Manila. The second composite statue, comprising the original body and the head of the Maglaqui replica, is normally stored in a different location and brought out only for the three major annual processions. This arrangement began in the 1990s because of security concerns for the image as well as to prevent further damage to it; up to the point, the original image in its entirety was processed.”
The devotion is now strongly rooted in the Philippines. It is because Filipinos, especially poor people, identify themselves with the passion and suffering which the statue depicts.
Every Friday of each week, devotees come to Quiapo Church in Manila to say the novena to the Black Nazarene. The heavy traffic of Manila would not prevent them from giving honor to the image and asking the Black Nazarene to answer their prayers.
Aside from the novena, devotees would kiss the image, light devotional candles and walk on their knees down the nave of Quiapo Church toward the altar that enshrines the image.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle explains this devotion in this way in a homily on January 9, 2016: “Have you ever experienced having no one to turn to and no one to hold on to? Go to him, and you will understand and experience for yourselves why the devotees have that kind of affection towards the Black Nazarene.”
The devotion to the Black Nazarene is now being promoted in the United States at St. John the Baptist Church in Baldwin Park, California.
Through the blessing of Fr. Michael Gutierrez, the pastor of the church, Filipino parishioners were able to obtain a replica of the statue from the Philippines.
It is the hope of the pastor and the parishioners that this devotion would be another way to evangelize people — not only Filipinos, but also other nationalities.
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of ImmAaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
