THOUSANDS OF BAREFOOT PHILIPPINES FLOCK TO 'BLACK NAZARENE'

MANILA, Philippine - Tens of thousands of barefoot Philippine Catholics joined a religious procession on Sunday for a centuries-old black icon of Jesus Christ believed by many to have miraculous powers.
The annual parade of the Black Nazarene aboard a gilded carriage around the downtown Quiapo district in Manila is one of the largely Catholic country's most spectacular and extreme shows of faith and attracts people from all walks of life.

• The carriage was pulled along in a sea of devotees, with thousands scrambling to get near the statue or touch the ropes as the image slowly made its way through busy roads. The faithful threw white towels or handkerchiefs to men at the front, who wiped them on the statue before tossing them back.
• The life-size wooden statue was brought to Manila by a group of Augustinian priests from Mexico in 1607, where it was first housed in a church at an old Spanish fortress, local religious historians said.
• More than a century later, the image was transferred to the Quiapo church, where it survived two huge fires, two earthquakes and the bombing of Manila by allied forces to end the Japanese occupation in 1945.
• Devotion to the Nazarene grew in the 19th century when then-Pope Pius VII declared that anyone who prayed piously through the image could have punishment for sins committed expunged - in the here and now, and in purgatory.

The event's popularity has grown so huge that each year dozens are hurt and sometimes crushed to death in the crowd. The Red Cross said that in the first few hours of the procession on Sunday, medical staff had already given first aid treatment to 130 devotees who suffered abrasions, headaches, hypertension and dizziness.

• Source: AP