LA Filipino Catholics celebrate new ‘Black Nazarene’ replica at welcoming Mass

Love was in the air on Feb. 14 at Holy Family Church in Artesia, but this was no Valentine’s Day celebration.

Instead, more than 1,500 Filipino Catholics packed the parish to welcome an official replica statue of the Jesús Nazareno statue, also known as the “Black Nazarene,” as the figure traveled from the Philippines to its new home in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Holy Family’s chapel.

Bishop Rufino Sescon of the Diocese of Balanga in the Philippines presided over a welcome Mass and turnover celebration of the replica, a gift from the Nazareno’s national shrine in Manila — a project coordinated by Father John Cordero, Holy Family’s pastor, and with support from the archdiocese’s Filipino Ministry.

Read full article on Angelus News.

(Photo Credit: Juanito Holandez Jr.)