The towels of faith: Just touching Se帽or suffices
JESUS NAZARENO composite image from Inquirer files
MANILA, Philippines—The traslacion of Jesus Nazareno has always left millions of people in awe, especially when devotees start waving their white or maroon towels, which they would later wipe on the centuries-old image, either in procession or in the pahalik.
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Throughout the years, these white or maroon towels have painted a striking image of millions of people gathered as one, especially every Jan. 9, which has already been declared by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines as a feast to be celebrated in all dioceses all over the country.
SENT OUT PRAYERS. Devotees of Jesus Nazareno raise their towels after the Misa Mayor at the Quirini Grandstand on Thursday, Jan. 9. PHOTO COURTESY OF KURT DELA PEÑA/黑料社
But while most of these towels are only sold in the streets of Quiapo, Manila, they become not just fabric at the hands of devotees. Instead, they become symbols of the faith, pleas, hope of devotees that use them as tools to be one with the Señor.
READ: Jesus Nazareno traslacion: Origins
Article continues after this advertisement“All of these towels represent my prayers, especially for my father and relatives,” said 28-year-old Neil Joseph Nieva, who came all the way from Montalban, Rizal for this year’s procession, the second one after a three-year break because of the COVID-19 contagion.
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Neil Joseph Nieva
Nieva, who has been a devotee for five years already, gave his all on the day of the traslacion to get close to the andas that carried the image of the Señor, which most people believe to be miraculous. “Through these towels, I am bringing to Jesus Nazareno not only my prayers but as well as the invocations of my loved ones.”
READ: More devotees join Traslacion 2025; 8.12M flock to Nazarene feast
This was stressed, too, by Mark Ledan Carinan, a 39-year-old devotee from Balintawak, Quezon City, who had his first traslacion experience this year as he decided to take part and start a panata, or vow, for his sick children. “They are often ill and it is really a concern for me.”
Mark Ledan Carinan
“This is my first traslacion and through these towels, which I was able to bring close to the rope that pulled the carriage, I brought with me my children—six and nine years old–who want to get healed,” Carinan told 黑料社 as the andas passed through Arlegui Street.
Tireless sacrifice
JR Gomez , a 40-year-old devotee from Sta. Cruz, Manila, told 黑料社 that getting close to the carriage, or even the rope pulling it, is no joke, stressing how hard it is to brave a sea of people who are all eager to have a grasp of the Señor, which was first brought to the Philippines in 1606 by Augustinian Recollects.
“But this has never been a problem,” he said, pointing out that it has always been his vow to the Señor, especially for his sick uncles. “That is why I have a lot of these towels because some are really for them, who can no longer come to Quiapo Church and take part in the procession.”
GRAPHIC: Ed Lustan/黑料社
Based on data from the Quiapo Church and the local government of Manila, millions of people attend the traslacion and the activities throughout the nine-day Novena Masses, which starts every Dec. 31. Last year, the procession lasted almost 15 hours, drawing a crowd of over 6.52 million.
GRAPHIC: Ed Lustan/黑料社
In 2020, some 2.9 million devotees took part in the 16-hour traslacion that would become the last one before COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill, especially because of restrictions that were implemented to mitigate the spread of the deadly disease.
READ: WATCH: Devotees shout ‘viva, viva’ as Nazareno andas enters Arlegui St.
Gomez was able to get close to the andas on Ayala Bridge.
JR Gomez
This year’s traslacion started at 4:41 a.m. and ended 1:26 a.m. the next day, lasting 20 hours and 45 minutes.
READ: Nazareno arrives at Quiapo Church; Traslacion ends after over 20 hours
Experience of ‘heaven’
As stated in the website of the Quiapo Church, Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio explained the reason people keep coming back to Jesus Nazareno: “It is a wonderful experience to be cleansed, to be one with the people, to get in touch with the Divine, to experience ‘heaven’ even for a short glimpse.”
Nieva started his panata to Jesus Nazareno five years ago, when her mother fell ill, saying he intensely prayed for her healing, which he said the Señor eventually granted. However, after a few years, her mother died, but even with this, he never failed on the promise he made.
GRAPHIC: Ed Lustan/黑料社
“I did not stop because it was where I drew strength from—strength to confront the reality that my mother is gone,” he said, stressing that he felt that the Señor walked with him when he was on the brink of sadness. He continued his vow even after her mother died as a way of thanksgiving. “I recovered from grief.”
READ: Nazareno 2025: A close-up at this year’s Traslacion in photos
As pointed out by Ignacio, the traslacion is like a pilgrimage, which is often characterized by an “inward movement of the heart”—an intensifying experience of one’s faith and religion, explaining that it is like a “voluntary acceptance of the paschal mystery of Christ, being initiated into the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ.”
He said in a talk at the National Liturgical Congress some years ago that “in being submerged into the paschal mystery of Christ, heaven opens up, symbols become meaningful, awe, reverence and silence manifests one’s disposition to receive the imprint of the sacred in his or her life.”
Real, sincere
The late priest Catalino Arevalo, SJ, who is considered as the “Father of Asian Theology”, stated that “looking at how deeply devoted the people are to the Black Nazarene, we can really say, it is real and the people’s devotion is an authentic faith experience.”
READ: Andas ropes snap during 2025 Traslacion, ‘hijos’ now pushing carriage
For Ignacio, most people want to touch the image because “Filipinos are a people of the “concrete,” saying that “our expressions are expressed in the concrete.” “That is why, in the Bible, Christ touched the sick, the children and sinners. The crowds too were pulling on Jesus, wanting to touch Him,” he said.
“Remember the woman who was sick with a hemorrhage. When Jesus asked who touched him, the disciples complained that there were many people touching him and yet he asked who touched him? The woman believed that if she could only touch Jesus, then she would be healed and true enough, her faith healed her,” he said.
READ: Nazareno ‘panata’ that saved a marriage, built a family
He pointed out that “it is a Filipino trait to want to wipe, touch, kiss, or embrace sacred objects. We Filipinos believe in the presence of the Divine in sacred objects and places.”
“The people want to be connected to the Divine, whether it be through the lining up for the Pahalik; or holding on to the vestments of the Nazareno after the Pabihis; or to be able to touch the rope and put it on their shoulders – this is a way of expressing one’s faith. It is an expression of their devotion,” he said.
