600 injured in crush after devotees surge to touch holy statue

• A security team struggles to protect the statue of the Black Nazarene as the procession made its way through the packed streets of Manila yesterday. Picture: AP

Barefoot devotees surged forward over iron railings to try to touch the 404-year-old image of Christ known as the Black Nazarene.

At least 578 people were treated for injuries or other ailments, including 27 who were taken to hospitals. Some had fractures after being pinned in the thick crowd or hit by the railings, said Gwendolyn Pang of the Philippine Red Cross.

About one million people gathered at the seaside Rizal Park at the start of the procession, despite rain that drenched participants. The mostly poor male devotees, wearing maroon shirts, swelled to 1.5 million after night fell, and were secured by 3,500 police along the three-mile route from the park to a popular church in Quiapo district. The procession lasted well into the night.

The wooden statue of Christ, crowned with thorns and bearing a cross, is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived and was named the Black Nazarene.

Some believe the statue's survival of fires and earthquakes through the centuries, and intense bombings during the Second World War, are a testament to its mystical powers. The Philippines is about 80 per cent Catholic.

As the statue was pulled on a carriage swarms of worshippers pressed forward to touch, kiss, or wipe handkerchiefs on the Black Nazarene to acquire its believed powers.

Jose Garcia, 45, clutching a rosary in one hand, said he believed his yearly attendance had cured his handicapped son, who now can walk. Another son was recently diagnosed with a heart ailment that requires surgery, which he said he could never afford.

"I need another miracle from God. Please save my other son," he said to the statue.

Sunday's spectacle reflects the country's unique brand of Catholicism that includes folk superstitions. Dozens of Filipinos have themselves nailed to crosses on Good Friday each year in another tradition to remember Christ's suffering, atone for sins and pray for ailing family members or a better life.

Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales said the large turnout nearly moved him to tears. "It was simply overwhelming seeing that sea of humanity," he said. "I asked, 'Jesus, can you see these people? Please answer their prayers."'

Rosales said he prayed for peace in the Philippines, which has grappled with decades-old communist and Muslim insurgencies.