MANILA (RVA News): More than 950,000 Marian devotees joined the Traslacion in Naga, Camarines Sur, for the transfer of the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia from Minor Basilica to Naga Metropolitan Cathedral.
Devotees from Bicol as well as other parts of the country came to or watch the annual religious observance which is part of the Peñafrancia Festival.
“As per the official assessment conducted by the Joint Operations Centre, the final crowd estimate for this year’s Traslacion procession reached an astonishing 950,000 devotees gathered to catch a glimpse of our beloved Divino Rostro [image of Jesus] and Ina [mother],” the Naga local government announced on its social media page.
The feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is celebrated yearly on the third Saturday or Sunday of September.
Known as the largest Marian gathering in Asia, the festival is celebrated in 15 towns in Camarines Sur.
Our Lady of Peñafrancia [fondly called Ina or Mother] is honoured by the people of Bicol as the patron of the Bicol region, which covers six provinces, two of which are islands.
The festival’s final and most-awaited part is the fluvial procession of the image from Naga Cathedral to the Minor Basilica.
The procession on the river can draw over a million people from different parts of the country and the globe.
The image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is permanently enshrined in the Minor Basilica in Naga.
