Police said Cecilia Fajardo, 54, and Alex Radovan, 44, were killed and over 40 others injured Wednesday, January 9, as they joined up to 100,000 devotees, many of them barefoot, fighting their way to snatch a glimpse of the ‘Black Nazarene’ statue.
The image, carved in Mexico and brought to the Philippine capital in the early 17th century, is cherished by Catholics, who believe it performs miracles.
Radovan was reportedly trampled to death by fellow devotees soon after the image of the Black Nazarene left the Minor Basilica Chuch in Manila’s Quiapo district. Fajardo apparently fainted and later died of a heart attack after she tried to get near the statue.
BISHOPS SCHOCKED
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it was shocked by the incident and urged the faithful to deepen their faith. “We’re all saddened by the death of two devotees and the injuries suffered by other devotees. This has become a challenge to the Church to really work for evangelization, everyone should be Christianized," the CBCP said.
The deaths overshadowed what some Catholics described as a miraculous experience. "Before I wash the shirt I wore in the procession, I wipe my children’s faces with it first so they will not get sick," Arnel Gadia, who has been coming to the festival for 11 years, told Reuters Television. "Because of the Black Nazarene, my son recovered from a car accident. He almost died," said Marcelina Eusebio, 59, who came from the central island of Cebu to join the choked procession.
Evangelical Christians have criticized these kind of events. They say not statues or other symbols, but only "a personal relationship with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ" guarantees eternal life and miracles. (BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos contributed to the story).
