Thousands of Catholics join ‘Walk of Faith’ through Manila

Many of those taking part in the march wore protective masks (Aaron Favila/AP)

Thousands of Catholics have joined a night procession through Manila to venerate a centuries-old charred statue of Jesus Christ, which was not included in the parade to discourage an even larger crowd amid lingering fears over coronavirus.

The 80,000 devotees, many wearing protective masks, joined the 3.7-mile “Walk of Faith” in the Filipino capital, but that was a fraction of the more than one million worshippers who typically converged in pre-pandemic years to pay homage to the life-size Black Nazarene statue in one of Asia’s biggest religious festivals.