FOR THE third year in a row, there will be no grand procession of the image of the Black Nazarene as part of the celebrations for the Feast of the Black Nazarene in 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fr. Earl Valdez, the attached priest of Quiapo Church, said in a dzBB interview that although there would be no grand procession of the image of the Black Nazarene, other activities such as the Mass and touching of the image of the Black Nazarene would push through.
Hourly Masses will be celebrated at the Quiapo Church on Jan. 9, the Black Nazarene’s feast day. Replicas of the image of the Black Nazarene will also be displayed across churches in Luzon to reach more devotees.
“If people are unable to go to Quiapo Church for the feast, the Black Nazarene itself will go to their respective places and churches,” Valdez said.
He also encouraged devotees to observe health protocols as he said safety remained a top priority amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene was done via a motorcade in selected areas of the City of Manila last year.
Metro Manila has tallied 4,037 active Covid-19 cases as of Nov. 10.
Traslacion is celebrated every Jan. 9 to commemorate the transfer of the Black Nazarene from San Nicolas de Tolentino Church inside Intramuros to Quiapo Church in 1787.
In contrast, Quezon City allowed the La Naval procession to push through in October, for the first since the outbreak of Covid-19.
