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

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.

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.

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.

"The only one who is reliable and the only one who gives us hope without fail is our beloved Lord Jesus the Nazarene," said Cardinal Advincula.

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.

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.

Thousands of devotees filled the streets for an annual Catholic procession in the Philippines. Religious locals gathered around the Quiapo Church in the capital city Manila, where the image of the Black Nazarene depicting Jesus Christ carrying a cross was set to arrive during the religious festival on January 9.