Konted's Make My Day 2: Quiapo Church

Quiapo Church

Margarita, a 49-year-old mother of four, takes the train at the LRT station in Santolan, Pasig every Friday. Disembarking at the Recto terminal, she walks through Avenida Rizal, turns left at Raon St., and turns right at Quezon Blvd. Dipping her two fingers at the stoup near the main door, she makes the sign of the cross as she finds a seat in one of the wooden church pews of the century-old Quiapo Church.

After a few minutes, Margarita stands up and proceeds to the center aisle. On bended knees, she moves towards the main altar. Ignoring the pain that goes with it, she is now is deep prayer. She is asking for divine intervention. Her garments business has shut down due to mismanagement. Totally bankrupt, she is praying to be able to hold on to her sanity.

Leonora, a beautiful, fair skinned woman in her late 30s, rides the Jam Liner from Sta Rosa, Laguna, transfers to a stainless passenger jeepney and gets off at Plaza Miranda. She leaves early in the morning and returns in the afternoon. She does it once a week.

With peso bills in one hand, Leonora buys anointed water, a small rosary and 5 handkerchiefs from a sidewalk vendor and enters Quiapo Church. After her usual prayer at the far end of the church, she starts kissing the statue of the Black Nazarene near the main entrance. She pulls out the handkerchiefs and rubs them on the icon and takes them home. She does it regularly with the belief that the Black Nazarene has miraculous powers and by rubbing the handkerchiefs, she takes with her the blessings and passes them to her home companions.

Manolo is a supervisor in a five star hotel located in Makati. For the past seven years or so, he files a vacation leave every January 9. He joins the long procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. " Panata ko ito. Pasasalamat. Kasi nung bago pa ako sa trabaho, magkakaroon ng retrenchment. Isa ako sa matatanggal. Nagdasal ako sa mahal na poon. Ayun hindi ako natanggal. Naging regular employee pa ako at bisor na ako ngayon.", he says with a smile.

Margarita, Leonora and Manolo are three of the countless Black Nazarene devotees who troop to Quiapo Church regularly. Friday is the special day of devotion but anyone may drop by any day and any time. Like a magnet, the Black Nazarene has continuously attracted thousands of Catholics who attest to its miraculous powers.

Quiapo Church is officially called Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene. Every January 9, a procession is held in honor of the Black Nazarene with the participation of thousands of devotees. It is a much-awaited religious event. It passes through selected streets in the Quiapo district.

On ordinary days, churchgoers make a beeline for the statue of the Black Nazarene. Others head towards the confessional. Others wait for the novena. Some position themselves near the main altar and start communicating with an unseen image. Anything they do, they do it with fervor. And with a faith that will never break.

- Konted

Quiapo Church is officially called Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene.

Quiapo Church still sports that Neo-Gothic architectural design.

The Quezon Boulevard side of Quiapo Church

The Evangelista Street side of the church

The main entrance near Plaza Miranda

Church interior. There are ropes attached to metal stands that serve as dividers or barriers. It is one way of controlling the movements of church goers.