Thousands gather at Manila for annual Catholic procession amid heavy security
9 Jan 2017 7:36 AM GMT
Despite fears and heavy security, police said about 470,000 people gathered overnight to be able to touch lifesize statue at Rizal Park.
A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Roman Catholic devotees joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ held under tight security due to fears of a possible attack following the killing of a suspected Islamic extremist leader.- Philippine National Police Special Action Force use binoculars to scan the route as Filipino Roman Catholic devotees join a procession to celebrate the feast day of the Black Nazarene.
- Filipino Roman Catholic devotees pull ropes that serve as a guide for the carriage of the Black Nazarene during the procession.
- Filipino Roman Catholic devotees climb the carriage to kiss and rub with their towels the image of the Black Nazarene to celebrate its feast day.
- Despite fears and heavy security, about 470,000 people gathered overnight to be able to touch the lifesize statue at the Rizal Park then joined the start of the raucous procession at daybreak
- A Filipino Roman Catholic devotee carries a replica of the image of the Black Nazarene as they join the procession.
- A family uses baby strollers for the replica of the image of the Black Nazarene during a procession to celebrate its feast day in Manila, Philippines.
- Devotees jostled around a carriage carrying the statue and threw small towels at volunteers on the carriage to wipe parts of the cross and the statue in the belief that the Nazarene's mystical powers to cure ailments and provide good health and fortune will rub off on them.
- Filipino Roman Catholic devotees carry the image of the Black Nazarene. The lifesize statue, crowned with thorns and bearing a cross, is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila on a galleon in 1606 by Spanish missionaries.
A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Roman Catholic devotees joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ held under tight security due to fears of a possible attack following the killing of a suspected Islamic extremist leader.
Despite fears and heavy security, police said about 470,000 people gathered overnight to be able to touch lifesize statue at Rizal Park.
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