‘Painful, beautiful’ death for Nazarene devotee

MANILA, Philippines - A teenager crushed in this year’s procession of the Black Nazarene died a “painful, but beautiful” death, according to his mother.

“It was an accident and no one is at fault. We find comfort that he was with the Lord when the incident happened,” Imelda Lim, 38, told The STAR.

Lim said the death of her 19-year-old son, Christian Mel, known as Jacko or Cha-cha to his relatives, was especially painful to her husband and 70-year-old mother, but his grandmother has accepted it.

Christian was 14 when his friends from Malate egged him to join the Anak ng Poong Nazareno, a group whose members religiously attend Nazarene-related events.

He had been warned about the risks but he ignored them, Imelda said.

“All I know is that he wanted to climb up the carriage (andas) and touch the Nazarene,” she said.

During the five years of his being a devotee, Christian never got close to the image of the Black Nazarene. He kept coming back in hopes that he could finally touch the image that believers say brings miracles.

Imelda said her son never told her the reasons that led to his devotion.

This year, Christian was so close to finishing the procession when he was trampled on by millions of devotees.

Christian’s body was discovered near the gates of Quiapo Church, shortly before the procession ended. A medical team rushed him to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, where physicians declared him dead upon arrival.

 “He was dead when I saw him. His body had hardened, and there was congealed blood on his sides and his face. He was autopsied and we were told that his death was caused by asphyxia because he was stepped on and trampled. He even had bruises on his leg,” Imelda said.

Christian was the second fatality in this year’s traslacion. Like the first recorded fatality Renato Gurion, Christian died after five years of taking part in the annual procession.