Philippines' Catholics display devotion to Christ statue, pray for end of pandemic

By Adrian Portugal and Eloisa Lopez
MANILA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Thousands of Catholic devotees
observed physical distancing as they queued for Saturday morning
masses in the Philippine capital to celebratate a centuries-old
black wooden statue of Jesus Christ believed to bring miracles
to the faithful.
With the coronavirus pandemic afflicting the country,
authorities cancelled an annual procession of the life-sized
image of the "Black Nazarene", the country's largest religious
event that draws millions of devotees in an annual ritual
observed for 200 years. Instead, church leaders organised 15 masses at Manila's
Quiapo church, which houses the life-sized statue, and
livestreamed the worship services, pleading for devotees not to
flock into the basilica.
"I am not afraid to go here even with the risk of COVID-19
because I have faith in Jesus the Nazarene. Every year, every
week I go to church," Arjay Echon, 29, a supermarket employee
and a devotee for seven years, told Reuters.
Echon, wearing face mask and shield while carrying a small
replica of the "Black Nazarene", said he is praying for the
pandemic to end.
Police estimated a crowd of nearly 23,000 as of Saturday
morning.
People in the queue, reminded by volunteers to practice
one-metre (one-yard) physical distancing, were required to fill
out contact tracing forms. Inside the church, devotees were
disinfected before receiving communion.
About 80% of the country's 108 million people identify as
Roman Catholic, a legacy of hundreds of years as a Spanish
colony.
"People were patiently in queue, waiting for their turn to
get inside the church," Father Douglas Badong, parochial vicar,
told DZBB radio station.
In contrast, the cancelled annual procession of the statue
depicting Jesus shouldering a heavy cross usually draws millions
of devotees, many barefoot and jostling to get close and touch
the image. Two people were killed and more than 1,200 people
suffered minor injuries in the dusk-to-dawn procession in 2016.
It is not known why the statue, which was carved in Mexico
and brought to the Philippines in the early 17th century, turned
black.
With more than 483,000 cases and 9,300 deaths, the
Philippines has the second-highest COVID-19 cases and casualties
in Southeast Asia, behind Indonesia.
"My personal prayer is good health for my family...I pray
for a better Philippines this 2021 and for COVID-19 to end,"
Prubancio Sarasin, 56, a security guard and devotee for 15
years, told Reuters.