The rector of the Quiapo Church on Tuesday hoped that the next feast of the Black Nazarene would be celebrated nationwide as they await the approval of the Vatican.

“We pray that the next time we are gathered here, the Jan. 9 will be declared by the Church as a national feast in honor of the Black Nazarene,” Quiapo Church rector Fr. Jun Sescon said in his speech at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

The Catholic priest noted that they are waiting for the approval of the Vatican on the proposal to make Jan. 9 a nationwide religious event.

“We want it to be a national feast for the Church, so it is up to the bishops and the Pope to discuss this,” Sescon added.

In July last year, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) already approved the proposal on the matter during its 126th Plenary Assembly.

The feast of the black Jesus Christ is an annual event in Manila, where millions of devotees and pilgrims join the “Traslacion” or the grand procession which starts from Quirino Grandstand in Luneta to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, commonly known as the Quiapo Church.

Similar activities in honor of the Black Nazarene have been held in other parts of the country which is being celebrated early part of the year.

The CBCP approved the petition to declare the Quiapo Church as a “national shrine” in July 2023.

The minor basilica will be formally declared as a “national shrine” on Jan. 29.

A national shrine is a Catholic church or other sacred place which has met certain requirements. The honor is given by the National Episcopal Conference to recognize the church’s special cultural, historical, and religious significance.

On May 10, 2023, Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula elevated the church to the status of an archdiocesan shrine.

In 1987, then Pope and now Saint John Paul II elevated the church to the status of a minor basilica. (PNA)