The procession, locally known as Translacion, sees devotees carry across Manila a 400-year-old, life-size statue of Jesus Christ carrying a black wooden cross. Millions of Filipino Catholics join the march every year to see and touch Jesus Nazareno, believed to be a source of countless healings and miracles throughout the years.

Hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees joined an annual procession in the Philippines of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ on Thursday in one of the world’s grandest displays of Catholic devotion and expressions of faith.

"The only one who is reliable and the only one who gives us hope without fail is our beloved Lord Jesus the Nazarene," said Cardinal Advincula.

Hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful took part in the annual procession in Manila, Philippines, to venerate a black statue of Jesus, known as the Black Nazarene.

A massive crowd of over 7.4 million mostly barefoot devotees on Thursday joined the largest religious procession in the predominantly Catholic Philippines in honour of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ.

Thousands of worshippers joined a mass as the religious Feast of the Black Nazarene festival continued through the night in the Philippines. Footage shows the devotees twirling white towels as the carriage holding the black Jesus statue set off from the Quirino Grandstand in the capital Manila on January 9.