CEBU CITY – An estimated 250,000 devotees joined the “Walk with Mary,” a dawn foot procession, on Friday, January 19, one of the highlights of the 459th Fiesta Señor here.
The religious procession started at 2:30 a.m. at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Barangay Guadalupe then proceeded to the Fuente Osmeña Circle. The procession traversed the long stretch of Osmeña Boulevard and ended at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.
OVER 200,000 devotees join the ‘Walk with Mary’ dawn procession on Friday, January 19, in Cebu City. (Juan Carlo de Vela)
The drizzle did not stop thousands of devotees from joining the procession of the images of Santo Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Despite the massive turnout, no untoward incidents were reported during the entire procession, said Police Lt. Col. Janette Rafter, Deputy City Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
“We want to thank everyone for the cooperation. This is just a once a year event so a lot of devotees wanted to get near the carroza but we advised them not to do so and we were thankful that they cooperated,” said Rafter.
As the Sinulog Festival nears, the CCPO is continuing to beef up its preparations.
“We are still continuously making plans in order to improve because as we go along, we are reviewing our security plans to ensure a peaceful and orderly celebration,” said Rafter.
The Sinulog Festival will be held on Sunday at the South Road Properties. Rafter said at least 5,000 policemen will be deployed to secure the activity.