Filipino Catholics pray for Mideast peace in massive procession venerating a black statue of Jesus

A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers is marching in an annual procession in the Philippines’ capital, carrying a centuries-old black statue of Jesus

MANILA, Philippines -- A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers marched Tuesday in an annual procession in the Philippines' capital, carrying a centuries-old black statue of Jesus. Many said they were praying for peace in the Middle East, where tens of thousands of Filipinos work, as fears rise of a spread of the Israel-Hamas war, now in its fourth month.

The procession, considered one of the major events of the year for Catholics in Asia, was suspended for three years during the coronavirus pandemic and last year, the statue was not paraded to discourage larger crowds. As the event got underway Tuesday, the crowd of devotees — many in maroon shirts imprinted with the image of the Black Nazarene — swelled to about 2 million, according to an unconfirmed police estimate.

Security was on high alert during the procession in Manila’s Quiapo district, following the Dec. 3 bombing that killed four people and wounded dozens of Catholic worshippers attending Mass at a university in the southern Philippines. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. blamed “foreign terrorists” for the attack, which sparked a security alarm.

Thousands of police and plainclothes officers were deployed in Quiapo, along with drone surveillance and commandos positioned on rooftops along the route of the procession, which is expected to last till midnight. Police also closed off many roads nearby, blocked cell phone signals and banned people from carrying backpacks.

The procession typically draws massive numbers of largely poor Catholics who pray for the sick and a better life.