After Nazarene feast, politicians’ streamers remain in Quiapo

The crowds may have thinned away a day after the Feast of the Black Nazarene, but streamers featuring greetings from politicians around Quiapo Church remained in place until Sunday. While some streamers featured candidates running for senator, most hold pictures and messages of those running for local posts in Manila this coming May.

At least one presidential aspirant's streamer was prominently placed at the plaza in front of Quiapo Church, where many Filipinos heard mass Sunday morning. Quiapo was a virtual no-man's land on Saturday during the procession from Quirino Grandstand, as devotees jostled to get near the image of the Black Nazarene, which is believed to have miraculous powers. On Sunday morning, the district was still bustling with churchgoers, some of them still wearing the maroon shirts to signify they are devotees of the Black Nazarene. At least two devotees died in Saturday's festivities, even as Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales lamented the “excess" devotion shown by some followers of the Black Nazarene. [See: Prelate laments ‘excess’ devotion to Nazarene] - LBG, GMANews.TV