Hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees joined an annual procession in the Philippines on Thursday of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in one of the world's grandest displays of Catholic devotion and expression of faith.

January 9 marks the closing procession of the Black Nazarene festivities. For three days, Filipino Catholics venerate a statue of Christ brought from Mexico in the 16th century, regarded as miraculous.

The traditional “Pahalik” that has been part of the annual feast of the Black Nazarene started ahead of schedule this year as devotees began massing and lining up at the Quirino Grandstand. The Manila Police District (MPD) said church authorities officially opened the religious activity that involved the touching and kissing of a Black Nazarene image at 8:05 p.

Taking place each year in January, the procession sees devotees carry across Manila a replica of a famous life-size statue of Jesus carrying a black wooden cross.

More than half a million Catholic devotees participated on Thursday in the centuries-old Black Nazarene procession in Manila, seeking blessings and miracles while navigating massive crowds that left nearly 470 injured.

It’s all systems go for the procession of the Black Nazarene in Davao City on Thursday, January 9, 2025. The replica of the Black Nazarene arrived at the San Alfonso Parish in Barangay Mandug from St. Mary’s Perpetual Rosary Parish in Buhangin around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8.

A devotee shows a miniature statue of the Black Nazarene during the annual feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila, the Philippines, Jan. 9, 2025. Thousands of devotees of the Black Nazarene flocked to downtown Quiapo district in Manila on Thursday to join the yearly procession to honor a life-size statue known as Black Nazarene.

Thousands of worshippers joined a mass as the religious Feast of the Black Nazarene festival continued through the night in the Philippines. Footage shows the devotees twirling white towels as the carriage holding the black Jesus statue set off from the Quirino Grandstand in the capital Manila on January 9.