Quiapo 101

To those of you who want to attend the mass at Quiapo during the feast of the Black Nazarene, here are some of my tips and advice. I go to mass here every 9th of January.

1. Masses are held every hour from eve and so if you plan to attend at a specified time, be there an hour before (before 5am) or more (after 6am) if you want to get inside the church.
This year, I was already at Carriedo at around 6:30 am but was able to get inside only by 7:40 enough time before the 8am mass. It's tough squeezing your way in especially when mass is ongoing. The time allowance will give you hopefully ample time to catch the wave of people going in to replace the wave going out. Going out of the church is faster - you don't even have to walk. Just catch the exit current.

2. Don't be fooled by an opening you see in the crowd. Chances are there are steel railings or candle vendors in the open area. Same is true inside the church. There are steel railings there to manage crowd control. But me, I opt to go towards it because there'll be more breathing space for me.

3. Commute going there because parking will be impossible. You may get lucky though to park a few blocks away if you go at around 1am to 3am, which I did about three years ago.

4. Be prepared to get soaked if its raining as it's not advisable to bring umbrellas if you don't want to irk the crowd. I'm lucky the drizzles stopped but the road became so muddy. So,

5. Don't use new shoes. Be prepared to get stepped on or ruin your shoes especially if it's raining.

6. Don't bring big bags or knapsacks, wallets or expensive cell phones.

7. Bring a towel. A hankie is not enough.

8. Do not bring children especially small ones. I plan to bring mine when they turn sixteen at least.

9. During communion, crowds are directed to the exit area. So if you still want to finish the mass (like I do) and wait for the final blessing, time your way to the communion area so that you are still inside the church even when you are already caught in the wave of people exiting the church.

10. Enjoy the pilgrimage. It is after all why you are there. Don't mind those who curses the pushing and the shoving even after just attending the mass. Focus on God, pray and be thankful for all your blessings.

This year the image for procession was staged in Luneta. This is different from the one inside the church. They use a different replica for purposes of the procession. I can classify devotees into two: Those who attend and join the procession barefoot and all, and those who attend the mass during feast day. Neither is a lesser devotion but a show of faith to Nuestro Senor Padre Nazareno.

God bless everyone!