By Samantha Uy
MANILA, Philippines — The annual Traslacion of the Black Nazarene ended Saturday morning after almost 31 hours, setting a new record as the longest procession in the history of the revered religious event.
Church authorities confirmed that the andas bearing the image of Jesus Nazareno reached the Minor Basilica of Quiapo at 10:50 a.m., completing the journey 30 hours, 50 minutes, and one second after it left the Quirino Grandstand at 4:00 a.m. on Friday.
The 2026 Traslacion surpassed last year’s record of 20 hours and 45 minutes and was more than double the duration of the 2024 procession, which ended in under 15 hours.
Data from the Manila Public Information Office showed that around 7.3 million devotees were present during the 27th hour of the procession alone, underscoring the extraordinary scale of public participation and devotion.
The lengthy procession faced several obstacles, including broken ropes and damaged wheels on the carriage, which slowed its movement. The andas was also stalled on Arlegui Street for nearly four hours, prompting church officials to concede early on that the original 15-hour target would not be met.
More than a day into the event, the procession reached the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian for the traditional dungaw. At that point, church leaders considered suspending the Traslacion due to widespread exhaustion among medical teams and first responders, as well as the rising number of medical incidents.
Despite calls for a pause, devotees and members of the Hijos del Nazareno continued pulling the andas toward Quiapo Church. Officials later explained that rerouting the procession at that stage could have caused even longer delays, leaving them no choice but to proceed.
As of Saturday, the Quiapo Church Command Post reported approximately 1,700 medical cases, including two deaths, during the 2026 Traslacion.