Mask up, Lacuna asks Nazarene devotees

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna yesterday urged devotees of the Black Nazarene to still wear face masks and socially distance themselves during the religious feast.

During a press conference with police and Quiapo Church officials, Lacuna said devotees should also sanitize their hands for the religious event, which was canceled for the past two years due to the pandemic.

Instead of the whole-day procession of the dark wooden image of the Nazarene that draws millions of devotees who believe it to be miraculous, this year’s feast will feature a “Walk of Faith” on Jan. 8.

The walk of devotees without the Nazarene’s image will start at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park and will end at the Quiapo Church. The procession will last for two hours only, from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.

“While wearing of face masks is optional, it is a must in crowded places in Manila. While it will be difficult to implement physical distancing measure, we hope the procession will be orderly,” Lacuna said in Filipino.

Manila Police District director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon said there is no security threat to the feast.

At least 3,000 police officers will be deployed to secure the procession of Nazarene devotees.

A liquor ban will be implemented from Jan. 7 to 9. Classes in Manila will be suspended on Jan. 9, the feast of the Black Nazarene.

The annual religious feast, which used to draw millions of barefoot devotees scrambling to approach the image of the Nazarene, was shelved for the past two years due to COVID restrictions.

In 2021, hundreds of thousands of devotees still swarmed the Nazarene masses in different churches in Manila.

In 2022, they were turned away from Quiapo Church, which was heavily guarded by police, with masses held online amid a surge in COVID cases after the holidays.