CEBU CITY — At least 300,000 devotees on Thursday, Jan. 5, joined the Walk with Jesus penitential procession signaling the start of the annual Fiesta Señor.

The procession started at 4 a.m. at Fuente Osmeña Rotunda. The procession ended with the first of the nine novena Masses at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.
The procession ended around 5:30 a.m.
Col. Ireneo Dalogdog, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said no untoward incident was reported during the entire duration of the procession.
Dalogdog said that based on the assessment of Harold Alcontin, operations head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the number of participants this year doubled compared to those who joined in 2020.
It was the first time in three years that a Walk with Jesus was held since the pandemic started.
Fr. John Ion Miranda, the Secretariat of Fiesta Señor 2023, said they also noted that the number of people who attended the Mass after the procession increased.
Miranda said at least 35,000 people attended the Mass after the procession.
“In our assessment, the attendees doubled or even tripled. We do not have the crowd estimate for the procession but for the Mass, the crowd inside and outside the church may have tripled,” said Miranda.
Miranda noted that despite the large crowd, the procession started and ended smoothly.
“It was very orderly. We are very thankful to the police and other agencies as well as the devotees for making the procession solemn,” Miranda said.