PHILIPPINES – 2000 Soldiers Will be Deployed to Secure Philippines’ Black Nazarene Feast

International Christian Concern | Jan. 8, 2019

Every year on January 9, millions of Filipinos gather in Manila for a procession of the Black Nazarene, a life-sized, dark-colored wooden statue of Christ carried into the streets by barefooted men. Catholic devotees climb over each other to touch, kiss, or rub bits of cloth on the statue, which is believed to hold miraculous powers.

Last Sunday, local police arrested a 42-year-old vendor outside the Quiapo church in Manila, where the Feast will be held in three days, after they found an improvised gun and two 12-gauge shotgun cartridges inside his bag.

Coderias was subsequently detained at the Sta. Cruz Police Station where he faces charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

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