The Black Nazarene

It's January once again and one of the first images we encounter in this time of the year is the picture of the sea of devotees during the annual procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. All this time I thought the icon was just the creative output of some Catholic artist who tried to come up with a symbol which we dark-colored Filipinos can relate to. I guess I was wrong.

At Inquirer.net today, I read that the annual procession really commemorates the first procession to transfer the image from a church in Intramuros to the present St. John de Baptist Church in Quiapo on Jan. 9, 1767. The John de Baptist Church is now also known as Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene.

The Basilica was named after the image of the Nazarene which arrived from Mexico earlier in Manila, in 1607, on board a ship that had caught fire. Reportedly, the image did not entirely escape the blaze, resulting in its charcoal color.

Since then and until now, the image's color somehow helped put in context its meaning to Filipinos, then the prime object of Catholic evangelization by Spanish missionaries in this part of the world.

“Somehow, Filipinos, because of our brown skin, get to identify with the color of the Black Nazarene,” Msgr. Josefino Ramirez, rector of the basilica, was quoted by the Inquirer. “To many of the devotees, He is the Filipino version of Jesus Christ,” he said.

From Inquirer.net:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines...