MANILA- Life-size replicas of the Black Nazarene will be placed along different stations of next year's Traslacion, administrators of the Church of the Black Nazarene said Wednesday.

Devotees who find it difficult to reach the centuries-old image of Christ can instead approach the replicas, according to Church officials.

Quiapo Church holds an early briefing for the Feast of the Black Nazarene in 2019; bares schedule of activities. pic.twitter.com/i6v8FzC3sw

— Raph Bosano (@raphbosano) November 14, 2018

The move also aims to address congestion along the procession, which is joined annually by millions of Filipino devotees.

Devotees flock to Quiapo every Jan. 9 to join the annual Traslacion in the belief that the image of the Black Nazarene has miraculous powers.

For next year's procession, drones will be allowed to fly along the route as long as operators agree to the requirements set by the Philippine National Police (PNP). Drone operators should also be accompanied by a police officer.

Next year's Traslacion will make use of the same route used this year.

Like in previous years, authorities expect over a million devotees to join the 2019 Traslacion. For this year, Church officials said the number of devotees reached over 6 million.

-report from Raph Bosano, ABS-CBN News