AFTER three years of putting the traditional Traslacion on hold due to the pandemic—the Black Nazarene procession is back, with millions of devotees expected to occupy the streets of Manila.  

The Feast of The Black Nazarene is an important event year in Manila that Filipinos anticipate. The church conducts the tradition every 9th of January–attracting millions of devotees to touch and get their towels wiped on image and Nazarene. 

The reason behind this is due to the blessings and the belief of the devotees to the powers that it holds. Aside from the blessings and power it gives, there are a lot of things that one should know about the Black Nazarene and Traslacion. 

Thus, RepublicAsia gives you a list of trivia on what you should know about Traslacion. 

The image of Black Nazarene originated from Mexico 

Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno, also known as the Black Nazarene, arrived from Mexico in 1606. The Black Nazarene was placed in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Bagumbayan (also known as Luneta) and is transferred in Intramuros in 1608. 

Millions of Filipinos are expected to partake in the Traslacion 

While the idea of millions is already a lot for many people—millions of Filipinos subject themselves in extreme conditions just so they could get close to the image of the Black Nazarene. 

The Black Nazarene is believed to perform miracles

 Millions of Filipino devotees believe that being able to take part in Traslacion could heal their illnesses and receive blessings. 

The reason/s behind the Nazarene’s dark hue 

There are two theories on why the Nazarene has a dark hue, one of it was said that the image was already damaged when it arrived in the country due to the galleon carrying it while it’s burning.

In a 2015 interview with GMA–Loyola School of Theology lecturer Msgr. Sabino Vengco, Jr stated that the reason behind its dark hue is because of its mesquite material. 

The image of Black Nazarene survived a lot of events 

First was when the image survived the fires that caused the Quiapo Church’s destruction in 1791 and 1929. Second was the great earthquake in 1645 and 1863. And third–the World War II bombing of Manila in 1945. 

Devotees follows different practices before and during traslacion 

There are some devotees that follow different practices before and during the traslacion. Some do a novena–nine days before the procession. 

Before traslacion, some devotees do the ‘pahalik’ where they kiss and touch the feet on any part of the image. 

Due to the healthcare protocol–devotees are prohibited to kiss any part of the image as it might spread out communicable disease. 

Traslacion usually takes 18 to 22 hours

The longest traslacion in the history lasted more than 22 hours in 2012. Meanwhile, the shortest traslacion lasted in just 18 hours in 2013. 

The last Traslacion before the pandemic 

In the year of 2020–the Traslacion before the pandemic had gathered more than 3 million devotees and the traslacion route lasted for only 16 hours. 

2024 Traslacion is set to take place on January 9–with its route starting from Quirino Grandstand to the endpoint of Quiapo church.  

Courtesy: facebook.com / @Quiapo Church