MANILA (RVA News): Quiapo Church [The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno] in Manila, the Philippines, home to the miraculous image of the Black Nazarene, has decided to drop the word “black” from its official title.
In an official decree dated October 3, Jose Cardinal Advincula, archbishop of Manila, he announced that the church be officially named “Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno – Saint John the Baptist Parish. According to the decree, the move “is meant to further focus the people on the holy name of our Lord than a color or attribute.”
The archbishop wrote, “As a national shrine, we intend to be more inclusive, i.e., the devotion also includes images of the cross-bearing Christ which may not be black.”
The Black Nazarene is a life-sized image of Jesus carrying the cross and famously has dark skin because it is made with mesquite wood. It arrived from Mexico to the Philippines through via Spanish galleon in 1606.
Father Rufino Sescon, Quiapo Church’s parish priest and shrine rector, who was named the new bishop to the Diocese of Balanga by Pope Francis on December 3, explained that the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus in the parish existed way before the devotion to the Black Nazarene began.
“When Quiapo Church was established as a parish in 1588, although the patron is St. John the Baptist, it was dedicated by the Franciscans to the Sweetest Name of Jesus. Long before the Nazareno found its home in this church, it already bore His mighty name,” wrote Father Sescon in an article on the church’s website.
The Black Nazarene is famously brought out for a procession every January 9, called the Traslacion, which draws millions of devotees to Manila.
“Veteran devotees of Quiapo recall that the January 9 celebration is actually the octave conclusion of January 1, the eighth day of Christmas, which is the former feast of the Holy Name of Jesus,” Father Sescon said.
“Yes, the cross is prominent because it is what the image of the Lord shows and it became the means to our salvation. But we must not fail to focus on the person of Jesus Christ himself,” he added.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
The parish priest shared that promoting devotion and catechesis to Jesus’ Holy Name has been one of the pastoral priorities of Quiapo Church, which was recently elevated to a national shrine on January 29.
“Quiapo Church is an epicentre of devotion and miracles which draws millions of devotees because, in this holy ground, the name and mission of our Lord is proclaimed and encountered,” Father Sescon said.
