The conduct of the first ever "Walk of Faith" procession for the Feast of the Black Nazarene was "successfully executed," said Quiapo Church Attached Priest Fr. Earl Valdez.
"Going back to our Walk of Faith experience, I can say that it has been successfully done and executed," Valdez told reporters on Sunday, Jan. 8.
The Quiapo Church Command Post said that at least 88,000 devotees participated in this religious event.
Valdez said that the Walk of Faith procession started at around 1 a.m. on Sunday at the Quirino Grandstand. The procession reached the Quiapo Church at about 4:15 a.m., he added.
"In terms of the goals that we desired to achieve, I think we were able to draw devotees into a new, albeit temporary, way of having the procession without the image," he said.
"We did it in an orderly and prayerful fashion, and we were able to reach Quiapo Church in time," he added.
The prelate also said that the activity was done in a safe manner.
"Second, in terms of the logistics involved, I think we were also able to process safely and orderly," he said.
"No casualties and security threats, despite having an eighty thousand-strong crowd, were reported, and there were no major disruptions in the procession," he added.
To recall, the Quiapo Church decided to still suspend the holding of the traditional Traslacion (the annual procession of the Black Nazarene) for this year's feast and instead introduced the Walk of Faith—amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.