Nazareno 2025 marks 1st celebration as national feast day

MANILA, Philippines — This year's celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene marks the first time it is celebrated as a national liturgical feast.

This follows the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) approving the Manila archdiocese's proposal on the topic, as well as making the Quiapo Church a national shrine, during a plenary assembly back in 2023.

The decision was made official during the Diocesan Directors of Liturgy of the Philippines meeting last September.

The rector of Quiapo Church and Balanga Bishop-elect Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. remarked on the historic commemoration last week in a press briefing.

"Makasaysayan ang ating piyesta sa taong ito sapagkat sa unang pagkakataon, ito ay hindi na lang piyesta ng Quiapo o ng Maynila, kundi ng (lahat ng simbahan sa) buong Pilipinas," he said. "We call it a liturgical feast. Sa bawat diocese, sa bawat parokya, ito ay kanilang ipagdiriwang."

Sescon expressed happiness that Filipinos around the country will be able to have their own local celebrations, but noted that many still consider visiting Quiapo Church and the original Nazareno image irreplaceable.

Last year marked the physical return of the Traslación, four years since it was last held before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Manila and the rest of the Philippines, as six million people walked the streets of the nation's capital.

RELATED: What is Traslacion? Feast of the Black Nazarene explained