The Black Nazarene History

The Black Nazarene is known in Spanish as Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno.

The statue was created and painted by an unidentified Mexican artist.

The Black Nazarene came from Acapulco, Mexico along with another statue. The latter however was destroyed during World War II.

The statue was brought to the Philippines on May 31, 1606.

The statue was a gift from Recollect priests to the Quiapo church.

The statue has been kept in Saint John the Baptist Church in Quiapo, Manila since 1787.

The statue represents Jesus Christ's passion and suffering on his way to Mount Calvary.

Devotees of the Black Nazarene are popularly known as Hijos del Senor Nazareno or Sons of the Lord Nazarene.

The statue's original body has lost several fingers over the years, and the original head has since been transferred several times onto a full-scale replica body by renowned Filipino sculptor Gener Manlaqui as commissioned by the Archdiocese of Manila. The statue also bears a large wooden cross with gilded brass caps on its ends while the head wears a braided wig made of dyed abaca, along with a golden crown of thorns.


An urban legend says that the statue originally had fair complexion but it turned dark after the ship carrying it from Mexico caught fire.

Another urban legend says that the Mexican artist who created the sculpture painted it a mulatto color. Soon after arriving in the Philippines, the figure grew darker due to unknown reasons.


From: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/08/14/infographic-black-nazarene-trivia