DEVOTION. Clarita Copiera, 61, from Barangay Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro City, visits the Nazarene shrine on Thursday afternoon (Jan. 7, 2021), ahead of the annual feast on Jan. 9 to avoid the crowd. The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro and the city government have committed to implement and observe strict health protocols in keeping the risk of Covid-19 exposure. (Photo courtesy of Divina M. Suson)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The city government here has issued a special permit to the Nazarene Parish Church on limited movements for the celebration of the annual feast of the Black Nazarene which started on Friday.
Instead of holding the "Traslacion," or the transfer of the image of the Black Nazarene from its shrine on C.M. Recto Avenue to St. Agustin Cathedral, the local government issued a special permit allowing the church to conduct a motorcade.
Msgr. Persus Cabunoc, Rector of Nazareno Parish Church, said the motorcade will start at 10:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the curfew is implemented to avoid gathering a crowd since the people are already inside their houses by that time.
Lt. Col. Lemuel Gonda, Cagayan de Oro City police deputy director for operations, said only 15 vehicles are allowed to join the motorcade that will compose of the carriage, a few church workers and priests, Nazareno hijos, police escorts, and media workers who will do the coverage.
Since safe physical distancing will be strictly implemented, only a limited number of passengers will be allowed inside the vehicles participating in the motorcade.
Reporters covering the event are not allowed to bring their own car and instead would be provided a single vehicle by the city government.
Gonda said the motorcade will only take one and a half hours from the shrine, going around the city and back to where it started.
"We estimate the route will go around 14.4 kilometers with the speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour," Gonda said.
Around 250,000 devotees joined the Traslacion in 2020 that took them three hours to walk from the Nazareno Shrine to the St. Agustin Cathedral.
During the motorcade on Friday night and the series of holy Masses on Saturday, a medical team of the LGU is on standby outside the Nazareno church.
Fr. Melvin Abejero, parish priest of Nazareno Church, said despite the limited movement because of the pandemic, the celebration for the Black Nazarene feast will continue even in a simple way because it is the devotees' way of thanking Jesus of Nazarene who is considered by the devotees as the saints of the poor.
Eight Masses would be held on Saturday -- four from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and another four from noon to 6 p.m.
The 10:30 am Mass is a concelebrated Mass with Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Jose Cabantan. (PNA)
