Massive crowd joins largest religious procession in Philippines

ManilacTypeface:> A massive crowd of over 7.4 million mostly barefoot devotees on Thursday joined the largest religious procession in the predominantly Catholic Philippines in honour of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ. The devotees, wearing maroon and yellow shirts, jostled against each other during the nearly 6-kilometre procession called Traslacion - the highlight of the feast of the Black Nazarene, a life-size wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross. This year’s number of participants of 7.4 million was up from more than 6 million in 2024 and is considered one of the biggest crowds to join the procession, overnight vigil and masses during the feast. The procession lasted for more than 20 hours, compared to around 15 hours in 2024. (DPA)