CBCP declares Quiapo Church a national shrine

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) declared the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) as a national shrine.

In granting the petition of Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila, the CBCP bestowed on Quiapo Church the title of “National Shrine of the Black Nazarene”, making it the country’s 29^th national shrine.

Quiapo Church is home to the centuries-old image of the Black Nazarene. It has served as a center of devotion for Filipinos and a prominent landmark for pilgrims, particularly during the traslacion, which commemorates the transfer of the image of the Black Nazarene from Recollect Church in Intramuros to its present shrine in Quiapo.

Earlier, in 1987, then Pope St. John Paul II elevated the church to the status of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene for its cultural impact on the religious practices of Filipinos.

The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of the Black Nazarene is canonically known as the Saint John the Baptist Parish.

The feast of the Black Nazarene is every January 9. The Quiapo church is under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Manila, particularly under the Vicariate of Jose de Trozo.

The earliest Quiapo church was built by missionaries of the Order of Friars Minor. In 1574, Limahong and his troops destroyed and burned the church. Formerly a visita (chapel) of the district of Santa Ana, the Franciscan friar Antonio de Nombella founded the church in 1588 which was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It burned down in 1603 and the parish was temporarily turned over to the Jesuits. Governor-General Santiago de Vera initiated the full construction of the church in 1686. On April 8, 1639, the administration of the church was returned to the seculars who had always been taking care of the church.