Black Nazarene’s greatest miracle: Bridging gap between rich, poor

Bridging the gap between the rich and the poor was the greatest miracle ever witnessed during the 400-year devotion of Filipino Catholics to the miraculous Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church in Manila.

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said yesterday this is how the faithful should honor the life-size image of Jesus Christ as he led the celebration for the fourth centenary of its arrival in the country.

"Through our faith in the Black Nazarene, there is no distinction between the poor and the rich. It only shows that everyone is equal in the eyes of God," Rosales said.

The cardinal admitted he remains fascinated by the devotion of millions of Catholics who have been joining the traditional procession of the Black Nazarene during its feast day on Jan. 9.

"Most of them are poor. And though many of them didn’t finish school, we can see their very strong faith," he said. "There are also well-off devotees who know how to share and help others."

Rosales officiated a 6 p.m. Mass at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, which was brought to Manila from Mexico by Augustinian missionaries on May 31, 1606.

The date of arrival of the Black Nazarene was discovered by accident when priests of the church were working on a documentary that was released last Good Friday of Holy Week, the original feast day of the image.

"The uniquely Filipino devotion to the Black Nazarene merited the sanction and encouragement of two Popes, Innocent X in 1650 with a Papal Bull canonically establishing the Confradia de Jesus Nazareno, and Pius VII in the 19th century by granting indulgence to those who piously pray before the image of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo," said Rosales, who also declared this year as Jubilee Year of the Black Nazarene.

Close to a million devotees of the Black Nazarene troop to Quiapo Church on feast day of the patron saint on Jan. 9. It is widely believed among Catholic faithful that touching the image during the procession would bring miracles or grant the wishes of devotees.

The Cardinal said the image was first enshrined at the Recollect Church in Bagumbayan, which is now part of Rizal Park, that was inaugurated on Sept. 10, 1606 under the patronage of St. John the Baptist.

In 1608, the image was then transferred to a bigger church built inside Intramuros before it was ordered moved to Quiapo church sometime between 1767 and 1790 by then Manila Archbishop Basilio Sancho de Samas Justa y Rufina.

When it was moved to the church at the busy Quiapo district, the devotion to the Black Nazarene attracted a bigger following, with its popularity spreading to the northern and southern provinces of Luzon and eventually throughout the country.

The cardinal likewise recalled that the image had survived the great fires that destroyed Quiapo church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863 and the destructive bombing of Manila in 1945 during the Second World War.

"Today, despite the rough and tumble that usually accompanies the procession of the image, the Filipino people’s devotion to our Lord in the special appellation of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno continues to flourish and shows no sign of waning," Rosales stressed.