MANILA - The statue of the Black Nazarene returned to its home in the Quiapo Church around 2 a.m. Thursday, some 21 hours after the procession began from the Quirino Grandstand early Wednesday.
More than 1 million people welcomed the Black Nazarene at the Quiapo church early Thursday, according to official police estimates.
Millions of barefooted devotees joined the annual procession of the Black Nazarene, one of the world's biggest displays of Catholic devotion and showcases the Philippines' status as the Church's bastion in Asia.
Last year's Traslacion took 22 hours to weave through the streets of Manila and return the 400-year-old statue to the Quiapo Church.
Devotees, meanwhile, were urged to "clean as you go" and to properly dispose their garbage to help keep the cleanliness of the restored Pasig River.
Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in other parts of the country also joined the religious celebration.