Quiapo Church

QUIAPO CHURCH

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (canonically known as Saint John the Baptist Parish and colloquially known as Quiapo Church; Spanish: Basílica Menor del Nazareno Negro) is a prominent Roman Catholic Latin-rite basilica located in the District of Quiapo in the City of Manila, Philippines. The basilica is famous home for the shrine of the Black Nazarene, a dark statue of Jesus Christ many claim to be miraculous. The parish is under the Archdiocese of Manila and its current rector is Rev. Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio.

The masses go to Quiapo Church in downtown Plaza Miranda and drop a visit to the Nuestro Señor Jesús Nazareno (a dark figure of Christ carved by a Mexican artist from black wood) whose image, reputedly miraculous, was brought to the country in a Spanish galleon in the 17th century.

Quiapo Church holds a novena every Friday, Quiapo Day, in honour of the Black Nazarene, and is attended by thousands of devotees. A note is sounded before the novena begins as the devotees to the Black Nazarene troop in and emit their strings of petitions. One can encounter the traditional folk Catholicism of Filipinos when they all climb the narrow flight of stairs to kiss the Señor’s foot or wipe it with their handkerchiefs they use everytime they visit. The Feast of the Black Nazarene on 9 January celebrates the traslación (solemn translation) of the statue to the church from the Church of Saint Nicholas Tolentino. Traffic is re-routed round the devotees who participate in this district’s fiesta. There are men who are devoted to carry the Black Nazarene statue around a specific route. They have a panata, a vow to serve the Lord in this sacrifice. These people believed that an afternoon’s participation in the procession can repent their sins and shady deals in a year.

Daily hourly masses are celebrated and devotees come from all walks of life.

Quiapo Parochial School was created in 1951 for the purpose of addressing the scholastic needs of the parish. The school patron is the Black Nazarene, which is a significant factor to the change of the school name to Nazarene Catholic School.