The Philippine Online Chronicles

Banking on respect, the Catholic Church will be assigning priests to help move the statue of the famous Black Nazarene on Monday’s procession.

Quiapo church rector Monsignor Jose Clemente Ignacio said the priests will carry the Black Nazarene from the church altar at the Quirino Grandstand to the andas or carriage that will be pulling it during the procession.

Ignacio said devotees tend to crowd around the statue even before the Mass ends, in hopes of being the first to touch it.

“There was a time when I was in the middle of it all and they came surging forward in the middle of the altar and they were going wild (when somebody shouted) ‘It’s Father! It’s Father!’ and they stopped,” Ignacio said.

Ignacio said the presence of priests tend to have a calming effect on crowds.

A calm procession is what the Catholic Church is hoping for during the estimated 12-hour procession in a sea of eight million devotees.

Quiapo Church’s popular Fr. Anton Pascual will ask the people to stay put as the priests carry the statue.

“We will ask (the crowd) to wait after the Mass ends. They should not surge forward because our priests are not used to being mobbed. And we should respect the Mass. That is sacred,” Ignacio said.

Manila all systems go

To be ready for untoward incidents, Mayor Alfredo Lim had already ordered for ambulances and hospitals in the six districts to be on full alert for the Feast of the Black Nazarene.

Coast Guard members will also be deployed along the Pasig River to prevent people from falling into it.

“It’s all systems go in Manila as far as the slated Jan. 9 celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene is concerned,” said Lim.

Maynilad will also be putting up free water stations for the devotees.

Classes have been suspended in schools where the traffic situation is expected to be heavy. These include City College of Manila, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Manila Science High School, Araullo High School, Manila High School, Mabini ElementarySchool, Avancena High School and Santiago High School.

“We in the city government will do everything possible to ensure a peaceful and orderly observance of the Feast of the Black Nazarene. We are all prepared and the Manila Police District under Chief Superintendent Alex Gutierrez would be augmented by the NCRPO (National Capital Regional Police Office),” Lim said.

He also said “criminal elements” are welcome to join the procession if they intend to change their ways and become devotees instead. However, he asked drunks and intoxicated participants to just stay away.

As early as tonight, devotees will be holding a vigil at the Quirino Grandstand.

The procession will pass through, Katigbak Drive, Taft Avenue, MacArthur Bridge, Palanca Streets, Quezon Boulevard, Arlegui, Fraternal, Vergara, Duque de Alba, Castillejos, Farnecio, Arlegui, Nepomuceno, Aguila, Carcer, Hidalgo, Bilibid Viejo, Guzman, Hidalgo, Barbosa, Globo de Oro and Villalobos to reach the Quiapo Church through Plaza Miranda.

Around 1,600 policemen are to be deployed while the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will supervise traffic operations.

The government is hoping that the procession will not lead to people being injured. Last year, the number of injured devotees rose to 560 from the 450 in 2010 and 227 in 2009. However, the worst recorded incident was in 2006 when two devotees died and 1,000 were injured.

The Black Nazarene, made of dark mahogany wood, was brought to Manila in 1607 by a group of Augustinian priests from Mexico. It was housed in a Spanish fortress but was later transferred to the Quiapo Church. It had survived two fires, two earthquakes and the bombing of Manila in 1945.

It was Pope Pius VII who said in the 1880s that anyone who would pray to the Black Nazarene will be granted plenary indulgence.

Devotees also believe that the statue will grant their wishes and heal the sick. Those unable to reach the statue and touch it throw towels or handkerchiefs at the carriage guards who in turn wipe the statue. Cloth that had touched the statue is believed by some to have miraculous powers to heal sickness.