Around 60,000 devotees attend annual 'Thanksgiving Walk' in Quiapo

MANILA -- Around 60,000 devotees attended the annual "Thanksgiving Walk" of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila, on midnight of December 31. "Approximately ang tantsa po namin sa bilang ng mga dumalo ay more or less mga 60,000 to 70,000. Inasahan po namin na uulan at napag pasyahan po namin, uulan man o hindi itutuloy. Fortunately po 'yung ulan hindi naman po buhos talaga. Kumbaga para lang tayong nakatanggap ng basbas," Alex Irasga, the Technical Adviser of Quiapo Church, said. According to Irasga, the yearly thanksgiving of the church focuses on giving appreciation and offering gratitude to the Lord for all His goodness during the closing year. "Ito po Thanksgiving, pagpapasalamat sa lahat ng biyaya na natanggap po natin. Sa lahat po ng panalanging ipinagkaloob ng ating mahal na señor sa mga mananampalataya na humihingi ng tulong," he added. Christian Antanilla, a devotee, shared that the procession has become his annual routine to give thanks to Jesus Nazareno. "Panata po namin ito, taon-taon po nagpupunta 'yung pamilya namin bilang pasasalamat sa Poong Jesus Nazareno sa isang buong taong paggabay niya sa amin. Namamanata po kami turo po samin ng lolo namin," Antanilla said. Another devotee, Joel Javier, was still very energetic after the procession that took more than two hours. Javier said that despite his age and health condition, he pushed himself to attend to thank Jesus Nazareno. "Nai-stroke ako nitong November 15, nasundan ng November 24. Sa awa ng Poong Nazareno lahat po ng ginawa sa akin talagang lahat po 'yan walang nakita. Wala pong nakita sa ct scan," Javier said. For Jhoana Pastuy, it was her first "Thanksgiving Walk." "Sobra pong nakaka-heart warming," she said. The program ended with a fireworks display as the karosa of Jesus Nazareno was brought back inside the church. Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews