There are millions of devotees flocking to venerate the Jesus Nazareno at the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno every year, but the image is not actually the first or the original Jesus Nazareno known to Filipinos.
According to Mark Salazar, in his report on “24 Oras,” the original Jesus Nazareno was actually the Nuestro Padre Hesus Nazareno of Intramuros, which arrived in the country with the Augustinians in the 16th Century.
It is said that the Nuestro Padre Hesus Nazareno of Intramuros was where the current Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo was based on.
“Ang arrival kasi ng mga Augustinian Recollects na nagdala ng original image ng Nazareno sa Philippines ay 1606. Kaso nga lang, wala tayong record kung kailan dinala ang original na image sa Philippines… They just assumed na dinala ng Recollects,” shared Fr. Rommel Rubia of the Order of Augustinian Recollect and who hold a Master’s degree on the Cultural Heritage of the Church.
(The arrival of the Augustinian Recollects that brought the original image of the Jesus Nazareno to the Philippines was in 1606. However, we do not have any record of when the original image was brought to the Philippines… They just assumed that the Recollects brought the image with them.)
One of the major differences between the Jesus Nazareno of Intramuros and Quiapo was that the Nuestro Padre Hesus Nazareno of Intramuros did not face forward.
It is also said to wear gold and silver regalia, topped with diamonds.
The original Nazareno was placed front-and-center at the Church of San Nicolas in Intramuros and was able to gather devotees within less than 100 years.
“Ang Nazareno na original, ‘yung nga ang Nazareno ng mayayaman, ng mga taga-Intramuros, ng mga Kastila, ng mga at that time, alta sosyedad,” said Fr. Rubia.
(The original Nazareno is the Nazareno of the rich, of those who lived in Intramuros, of the Spanish, and at that time the influential society.)
The increasing influence of the Jesus Nazareno outside Intramuros led the church officials to create another image that reportedly arrived from Mexico in the early years of the 17th Century.
“Nagdemand ang obispo na maglagay ng pangalawang image diyan sa Quiapo so that may access ngayon ang mga tao. Kaya nga there are two Nazarenos now: ang ‘Nazareno Guapo’ o para sa mayaman at ‘Nazareno Itim’ para sa mga natives,” Fr. Rubia explained.
(The bishop demanded that a second image to be placed in Quiapo so that people would have access. That is why there are two Nazarenos now: the ‘Nazareno Guapo’ for the rich and the ‘Nazareno Itim’ for the natives.)
The second Jesus Nazareno was moved to Quiapo between 1767 to 1787, which is the basis of the current celebration of the Feast of Jesus Nazareno at the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno.
However, during World War 2 the shrine of the Nuestro Padre Hesus Nazareno of Intramuros were among the structures that were destroyed.
“When the Americans bombed it, talagang sirang-sira lahat so wala nang nakita, walang nakuha. That was February 1945. So nasira ang simbahan, nawala na ang Cofradia doon, lumipat na silang lahat sa Quiapo,” said Fr. Rubia.
(When the Americans bombed it, it was completely destroyed so they weren’t able to find or retrieve anything. That was February 1945. So the church was destroyed, the Cofradia moved to Quiapo.)
All that is left of the original image and church is a marker, which signifies how the war destroyed the first Jesus Nazareno of the Philippines that led to the popular devotion for the Jesus Nazareno. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/BAP, GMA Integrated News
