Black Nazarene

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PHOTO ESSAY-The Feast of Black Nazarene:A Day of Devotion

The Black Nazarene is a life-sized, dark-skinned statue of Jesus Christ that a priest bought in Mexico, carved by an Aztec carpenter. The image is now enshrined in the minor basilica in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines and the day on which devotees go to the church is Friday.

History

The statue was brought to Manila by the first group of Augustinian Recollect friars in May 31, 1606. The image was enshrined at the first Recollect church in Bagumbayan (now part of the Rizal Park), which was inaugurated on September 10, 1606, and placed under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist.

In 1608, the second bigger Recollect church dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino(Saint Nicholas of Tolentine ) was completed inside Intramuros (where the building of the Manila Bulletin now stands), where the image of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno was transferred. The Recollect Fathers then vigorously promoted devotion to the Suffering of Our Lord represented by the image that in fifteen short years, the Cofradia de Jesús Nazareno was established on April 21, 1621. The confraternity obtained Papal approval on April 20, 1650, from His Holiness Pope Innocent X.

Sometime in the year 1787, the Archbishop of Manila, Basilio Sancho de Santas Junta y Rufina, ordered transfer of the image of the Nazareno to the church in Quiapo, again providently placed under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist.

The image survived the great fires that destroyed Quiapo Church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the destructive bombing of Manila in 1945 during World War II.

Recently, however, in 1998, a replica of the original Black Nazarene was first paraded due to the repeated damages on the statue. Today this replica is still used in processions while the original rests inside the church, and other, even smaller replicas can be found in other churches.
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