| Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (St. John, the Baptist Parish) |
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|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Quiapo, Manila, Philippines |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Year consecrated | (as Minor Basilica) February 1, 1988 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Archdiocese |
| Heritage designation | "Shrine of the miraculous Black Nazarene" |
| Leadership | Monsignori |
Quiapo Church, officially known as Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, is a Roman Catholic church located in the District of Quiapo, Manila, in the Philippines. The church is one of the most popular churches in the country. It is home to the Black Nazarene, a much venerated statue of Jesus Christ which many people believe has miraculous attributes. The church was painted cream after the original Mexican Baroque edifice was burned down in 1928. It is expanded to its current form in 1984 for accommodation of thousands of devotees. Also known as St. John the Baptist Parish, the church at present belongs to the Archdiocese of Manila. The current rector is Rev. Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, former Episcopal Vicar, Chancellor and Oeconomus of the Archdiocese of Manila, who succeeded Msgr. Josefino Ramirez (the Vicar General of the archdiocese) upon the latter's appointment as rector of the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Maysilo, Mandaluyong City. Assisting Msgr. Clem are his Parochial Vicars Rev. Fr. Fernando Carpio, Rev. Fr. Frank Villanueva, Rev. Fr. Venusto Suarez and Rev. Fr. Ricardo Valencia.
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When Governor General Santiago de Vera founded the District of Quiapo on August 29, 1586, the Franciscan Missionaries built the first church of Quiapo with Bamboo and Nipa. San Pedro Bautista, a Franciscan missionary at that time was one of the founders of the Quiapo church, thus his image is located at one of the side niches of the church. San Pedro Bautista founded many churches in Metro Manila and Laguna. The famous of them all is the one at San Francisco Del Monte, the parish that is named after him and houses the Holy Cave for missionaries that went to China and Japan during those days. Unfortunately, this church was burned in 1639. Rebuilding and repairs at intervals gave the parish a stronger edifice which the earthquake of 1863 partially destroyed. Under the supervision of Fathers Eusebio de Leon and Manuel Roxas, the third church was completed in 1899, with Fr. Roxas raising PhP. 40,000.00 from contributions. In the fire of October 30, 1928, the church was left in ruins leaving its scarred walls and belfry. Dona Encarnacion Nakpil de Orense, head of the Parish Committee, raised funds for the reconstruction of the church and National Artist for Architecture Juan Nakpil was made responsible for the church's rebuilding. Miraculously, the church survived the ravages of the Second World War, despite its surrounding buildings being completely destroyed.
In 1975 Bishop Hernando Antiporda was appointed parish priest. He was just beginning to make improvements in the parish when he was brutally murdered, together with assistant parish priest, Rev. Fr. Raymundo Costales in the early morning of December 13, 1975. Robbery was believed to be the motive. The culprits strangled the bishop with a cord, and they stabbed the co-adjutor on the neck with a broken bottle.
To meet the needs of an ever-increasing number of churchgoers, Msgr. Jose Abriol, together with Architect Jose Ma. Zaragoza and Engr. Eduardo Santiago, worked hard in 1984 to have the parish church and national shrine remolded. Thus this sacred edifice has doubled in holding capacity and has acquired a most sturdy columnless structure and modern architectural beauty. Cardinal Sin blessed it on September 28, 1987. The year after, Quiapo Church was declared the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene. The Papal Nuncio, Most Rev. Bruno Torpigliani, blessed the altar of San Lorenzo Ruiz on February 1, 1988.
The Minor Basilica of Saint John the Baptist holds the well known image of Black Nazarene (Senor Nazareno). It was one of the two identical images brought into the islands by the Augustinian Recollects during the Spanish Colonial Period.
The first and most famous one was kept at the Church of Saint Nicholas de Tolentino in Bagumbayan and later transfered to Intramuros when the old edifice was demolished. This Black Nazarene was part of the celebrated Palm Sunday Procession in the old walled city. Sad to say, this statue perished during the liberation of Manila in February 1945.
The other statue was given by the Recollects to the Church of Quiapo. Often, it has been mistaken that this is identical to the lost image of the Intramuros. Every 9th of January Devotees flock to the Basilica for the Annual Feast of the Black Nazarene. The procession that ensued takes several hours to negotiate the narrow streets of Quiapo and gives an appearance of sea of mankind. On ordinary times of the year, Friday is known as Quiapo Day. The Sick and those asking for Divine intervention go to the shrine on the said day.
In a move to protect the centuries old image from effects of processions, the Fathers of Quiapo decided to commission a replica of the Black Nazarene. As a result, the Head and the Hands were placed on the new body while the old torso holds a new head. Both images are brought out for processions albeit alternating every other year.
The Quiapo Church holds a weekly novena every Friday and is attended by thousands of devotees. On January 9. This event is participated by Millions of Devotees while Quiapo Church holds Novena of Masses before the event. Many sick people come to see the Black Nazarene, hoping that getting a chance to pray in front of its miraculous image would heal their sicknesses. Others come for various intentions and the answers as well as the miracles are attributed to the special presence of Our Lord in the Shrine. Daily hourly masses are celebrated and devotees from all over the country would always pass by the Church of Quiapo. Every Thursday before First Fridays, healing Services are conducted with priests administering the blessings. Confessions are readily available beginning 8am until 7pm.
The devotion to the Black Nazarene has been growing. Due to the sizable crowd of devotees joining the procession, the Traslacion now begins at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta. The procession takes the whole day and reaches Quiapo Church late evening. Also to allow the devotees in distant provinces to partake of their devotions to the Black Nazarene, Quiapo Church has donated lifesize images of the Black Nazarene to the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, the Diocese of Iligan, the Diocese of Ipil and a small image to the Seminary in the Diocese of Borongan, Eastern Samar. Devotees in these areas have been benefitted by the presence of these statues from Quiapo Church and have now been increasing in numbers. In Luzon and the Visayas, the Pilgrim Images of the Black Nazarene have been requested by parishes to grace them with a visit of the "Poon". Quiapo Church has also acquired two properties adjacent to the Church to cope with the growing activities and programs of the parish. The former Lao Building has been renovated under the supervision of Arch. Aurora Ramos and Eng. Victor Mallilin. The Benedict XVI Building(former Lao Building) has been recently inaugurated (2011) and it now houses the Social Services, the ministries and organizations of the Church.
| Name | Years of Pastorship | Former Assignments |
|---|---|---|
| Rev. Msgr. Vicente Fernandez, P.A. † | 1937 to 1954 | |
| Rev. Msgr. Francisco Avendaño † | 1954 to 1955 | |
| Most Rev. Vicente Reyes, D.D. † | 1955 to 1961 | deceased Bishop of Cabanatuan |
| Most Rev. Pedro Bantigue, D.D. | 1961 to 1967 | Bishop-emeritus of San Pablo |
| Most Rev. Bienvenido Lopez, D.D. † | 1967 to 1974 | deceased Auxiliary Bishop of Manila |
| Fr. Antonio Pascual | 1974 | |
| Most Rev. Hernando Antiporda, D.D. † | 1974 to 1975 | deceased Auxiliary Bishop of Manila |
| Rev. Msgr. Jose Abriol, P.A. † | 1975 to 1993 | deceased Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Manila |
| Rev. Msgr. Bienvenido Mercado, P.C. † | 1993 to 1999 | |
| Rev. Msgr. Teodoro Buhain, D.D. | 1999 to 2004 | Auxiliary Bishop-emeritus of Manila |
| Rev. Msgr. Josefino Ramirez, H.P., STD | 2004 to 2007 | Vicar-General emeritus of the Archdiocese of Manila |
| Rev. Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, P.C., TOC | 2007–present | Former Episcopal Vicar District of Makati, Chancellor and Oeconomus |