The Black Nazarene (Spanish: El Nazareno Negro, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, Filipino: Poóng Itím na Nazareno, Hesus Nazareno) is a life-sized image of a dark-skinned, kneeling Jesus Christ carrying the Cross enshrined in the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in the Quiapo district of the City of Manila, Philippines.

The Black Nazarene was carved by an unknown Mexican from a dark wood in the 16th century in Mexico and then transported to the Philippines in 1606. It depicts Jesus en route to his crucifixion. Pope Innocent X granted recognition to the lay Confraternity of Santo Cristo Jesús Nazareno in 1650 for the promotion of the devotion to Jesus through the icon. It was housed in several churches near Manila in the early decades, arriving in Quiapo Church in 1787 where it has been enshrined ever since. The icon is renowned in the Philippines and is considered by many Filipino Catholics to be miraculous; its mere touch reputed to cure disease. It attracts homage by numerous devotees and major processions every year.

The image (in recent years a composite replica) is brought out of its shrine in procession three times a year: January 9 (the anniversary of the icon’s translation), Good Friday (the Nazarene’s liturgical feast, commemorating the culmination of the Passion), and December 31 (New Year’s Eve, the first day of its annual novena). The January 9 procession re-enacts the image’s Traslación (literally “transfer”) in 1787, or “solemn transfer” to the Minor Basilica from its original shrine inside Intramuros. The January 9 Traslación is the largest procession, drawing thousands of devotees thronging to touch the icon and lasting 22 hours at the most.

The Black Nazarene is venerated by Filipino devotees every Friday. Along with the Santo Niño (Child Jesus), it is the most popular object of devotion in the Philippines. A similar image called Cristo Negro is venerated in Portobelo, Panama.

St Peter Contact for our very own Disciples of the Holy Black Nazarene

Ligaya Cortez

386 736-3327