Black Nazarene

Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (Filipino: Mahál na Poóng Jesús Nazareno), officially and liturgically known as Jesús Nazareno, and popularly known as the Black Nazarene (Spanish: El Nazareno Negro; Filipino: Poóng Itím na Nazareno), is a life-sized dark statue of Jesus Christ carrying the True Cross. The venerated image is enshrined in the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines.
The image was reputedly carved by an unknown Mexican artist in the 16th century and then brought to the Philippines in 1606. It depicts Jesus en route to his crucifixion.
Pious believers claim that physically touching the image can grant miracles and cure diseases. The original image or its replica is brought out in procession three times a year:
The image derives its official name from "Nazarene", a title of Christ identifying him as a native of Nazareth, along with its dark complexion (unusual for depictions of Jesus, even in the Philippines).
The Roman Catholic Church encourages the image to be called Jesús Nazareno. Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula issued a decree on October 3, 2024 renaming the host church and the image to Jesus Nazareno to "further focus the people on the holy name of our Lord than a color or attribute".
There is no singular complete image of the Black Nazarene as there are several images and replicas in different combinations.
Aside from the replica images called Venerado and the Vicário, the basilica also maintains other replicas of the image called Callejeros. These are considered by the shrine as official replicas of the Nazareno which is sent to visit various parishes across the different dioceses in the country. These visits are officially called as Dalaw Nazareno. On these visits, the callejeros are accompanied by the official standard banner of the Basilica and Shrine and one of the priests assigned in Quiapo Church would go and celebrate mass in the host church.
At present, the shrine has five Callejero images: Uno, Dos, Katorse, Disisiete, and Señor Cabeza. The names of first four images refers to the number of replicas produced for the shrine when it was labeled. The Señor Cabeza is a famed image previously maintained by Catholic priest, Father Emmanuel del Rosario of the Diocese of Cubao who also was a devotee of the Black Nazarene. After his death, the image was donated to the church as callejero on 26 October 2022.
The Quiapo Church also donates official replicas of the Nazareno to churches and shrines in the Philippines and abroad to promote and to spread the devotion to the image. Currently, they have donated 34 images to different dioceses and 5 of them were donated outside the Philippines.
The image's wooden base is referred to as the peana while its carriage or carroza used in processions is called the ándas (from the Spanish andar, "to move forward"). The term ándas commonly refers to the shoulder-borne palanquins of religious images, and was retained for the icon's carriage which replaced the silver palanquins used until the late 20th century.
The image was made by an anonymous Mexican sculptor and arrived in Manila via galleon from Acapulco, Mexico. There is no definite date of the arrival of the image. The Augustinian Recollects asserted that during their arrival in the Philippines in 1606, the Nazareno is not one of the sacred images that they brought with them. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the image was already in the Philippines before the middle of the 17th century since Pope Innocent X authorized the Cofradìa del Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno (Confraternity of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth) on April 20, 1650.
Popular belief attributes the colour of the image to soot from votive candles burnt before it, although the most popular legend is that it was charred by a fire on the galleon that brought it from Mexico. Filipino Catholic theologian and church historian Monsignor Sabino Vengco, meanwhile, claims that the image is not charred, but is in fact dark through to its core, being carved from mesquite wood. Vengco based this claim on personal research in Mexico, where he said mesquite wood was a popular medium in the period the image was carved. He also likened it to Our Lady of Antipolo, another popular image of similar provenance and appearance.
The image was first enshrined in the Church of San Juan Bautista of the Augustinian Recollects in Bagumbayan, Luneta. In 1608, the image was transferred to the Church of San Nicolás de Tolentino (popularly known as the "Recoletos Church") inside Intramuros. It was enshrined in the retablo mayor or high altar of the church, leaving only for a procession on Palm Sunday. Both the church and the image were destroyed in the Allied bombardment of Manila during its liberation in 1945.
During his tenure as Archbishop of Manila in 1767-1787, Archbishop Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina ordered the Augustinian Recollect priests the transfer a copy of the image to the Quiapo Church. The reason for this is to give devotees further access to the image and secure the safety of Intramuros from outsiders. Contrary to popular belief that this transfer occurred on 9 January 1787 which became the basis of Feast of the Black Nazarene celebrated by the faithful every January 9 through a procession (the Traslación), there is no available historical record to verify the exact date of transfer of the Nazareno from Intramuros to Quiapo.
The venerable image survived numerous fires, earthquakes, and other natural and human-caused calamities, especially the Philippine Revolution, the 1929 fire that destroyed the church, and the bombings of World War II.
In the 1980s, the rector of the Basilica, Rev. Msgr. Jose C. Abriol, feared that the image might be damaged during the Traslación, fire, or natural disaster. He commissioned Gener Maglaqui, a santero ( a sculptor of religious images) from Quiapo, to carve a replica of the head and body. The original head now sits atop the 1980s body (the Venerado), which remains enshrined in the church's main altar. The 1980s head was placed atop the original body (the Vicario). It is this composite combination which is used during major processions.
There is a popular story about a fanatical Iglesia ni Cristo member shot the image's left cheek using a gun. It allegedly caused a hysterical commotion that led to the shooter's death and left a gunshot mark on the cheek of the Nazareno which has remained unrestored by pious popular demand. However, public historian Xiao Chua interviewed Eugenio “Boy” Jongco, former president of the Hijos de Nazareno - Central and a witness of the event, to confirm the story. While he confirmed that there was a commotion and a shooting incident when the procession passed an Iglesia ni Cristo chapel in Concepcion Aguila St. during the mid-1980s, he clarified that the shooting incident was not directed to the image. He further clarified that a gunshot did not cause the hole in the image's face. It was a dent in the image ever since it was carved, and it was eventually revealed because of dryness and age over time.
The Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno wears a braided wig made of dark, dyed abacá, along with a golden Crown of Thorns. Attached to the Crown are the traditional "Tres Potencias" ("three powers") halo, variously understood as symbolising the three powers of the Holy Trinity; the faculties of will, memory, and understanding in Christ's soul; or his exousia (authority), dunamis (power), and kratos (strength). These three rayos ("rays"), likely an angular variant of the cruciform halo, are used exclusively for and proper to images of Jesus Christ in traditional Filipino and Hispanic iconography to signify his divinity. The original image has lost several fingers over the centuries.
Jesus is shown barefoot and in a genuflecting posture, symbolising the agony and the weight of the Cross, along with the overall pain Christ endured during his Passion. The Cross itself is of black wood tipped with flat, pyramidal brass caps.
The image is dressed in a heavy velvet tunic of maroon, embroidered with floral and plant designs using gold thread, and trimmed with a matching set of white lace collar and cuffs. Around the waist is a gold-plated metal belt embossed with the word "NAZARENO", while a golden chain ending in spheres is looped around the neck and held in the left hand, representing the Flagellation of Christ.
The vestments of the image are changed in the rite of Pabihis (English: Vesting the image), which is presided over by a Catholic priest vested in an alb, red cope and stole. Devotees watching the ceremony either sit inside the basilica, or follow along outside in Plaza Miranda. The rite comprises with several hymns, the reading of scriptural lessons, the recitation of prayers, and then the blessing of the new vestments. As a sign of modesty and reverence, a curtain is raised to shield the statue from public view as the male attendants called Hijos change its vestments, and then it is dropped once the actual changing is complete. The old vestments are folded and presented to the faithful, who queue to kiss and touch these in the belief these bear the image's miraculous properties. The rite of vesting is officiated five times a year in preparation for major religious occasions; since 2022, a few of the vesting day rites are also livestreamed online.
Veneration of the Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno is rooted among Filipinos who strongly identify with the passion and suffering of Christ the image depicts. Many devotees of the venerated image relate their poverty and daily struggles to the Passion of Christ.
Some believers practice walking in barefoot as a form of piety while others make an effort to ride on the carriage in the belief of obtaining graces from the devotional image. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, procession of the image was relatively solemn and peaceful. The rowdy and massive nature of the procession began in the 1960s as the population grew and greater hype surrounded the image.
While the actual patron saint of the basilica is John the Baptist (making its feast day June 24, concurrent with the secular Manila Day), the Black Nazarene and its Traslación are more popular.
At the end of each Mass said in the basilica, devotees pay homage to the image by clapping their hands. In addition to the novena, Traslación, Pahalík, and the Pabihis, the Pasindí ("lighting") or lighting of votive candles is another popular devotion, as is the decades-old, reverential custom of creeping on one's knees down the main aisle towards the altar and image.
The Friday of each week in the year (except Good Friday, the image's liturgical commemoration) is colloquially known in Metro Manila as "Quiapo Day", since the novena for the image is held on this day nationwide. As with Wednesday (which is comparably called "Baclaran Day"), this day is associated with heavy traffic around the basilica due to the influx of devotees and pilgrims.
The attached Nazarene Catholic School (formerly the Quiapo Parochial School) reflects the devotion of school authorities; its official newsletter is likewise named "The Nazarene", with pupils called "Nazareñans."
The largest annual procession for the Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno is the January 9 Traslación procession on the Feast of the Black Nazarene, attracting millions of Catholic devotees, who try to touch or get their towel wiped by the image carriers on the image to attain its blessings and power. Along with Santo Niño (Child Jesus), it is the most popular object of devotion in the Philippines. In 2011, over six million Catholic devotees flocked to the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
The hymn Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno was composed by National Artist of the Philippines, Lucio San Pedro to honor the image. It is used by the basilica as the official anthem to the image and associated rites.
The image is also prominently featured on the front cover of Pabasa books, a Lenten manual hymn commemorating the life and Passion of Jesus Christ.
According to the rector of the basilica, Father José Clemente Ignacio, the image's procession and devotional practices reflect the "Filipino trait to want to wipe, touch, kiss, or embrace sacred objects if possible", and reflect an indigenous belief in "the presence of the Divine in sacred objects and places."
According to Jaime Laya, these practices are a modernized form of indigenous idolatry, a continuation of the pre-Christian practice of revering sacred objects by pious touching (Filipino: Hipo / Himas). Elizabeth Pisares also states that this is a revised idolatry of pre-colonial times, and suggests its link with social disparities among Filipinos.
According to Mariano Barbato, the debate over the icon comes down to personal interpretations of what constitutes idolatry.
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