Quezon shrine draws over 6M Holy Week pilgrims
LUCENA CITY—An estimated 6.1 million devotees and pilgrims visited the “Kamay ni Hesus” (KNH) Shrine in Lucban town in Quezon province during the Holy Week to fulfill their annual vows, atone for their sins and seek guidance in the coming midterm election in the country.
Fr. Joey Faller, known as a “healing priest” and KNH administrator, said in a text message on Sunday that 6,112,497 people visited the shrine from April 13 to April 19, surpassing the four million devotees who went to the shrine during the Holy Week last year.
The KNH staff and security guards at the entrance gate maintained automatic counters and handheld clickers to count visitors.
Police Maj. Bryan Vicedo, Lucban police chief, in a phone interview on Sunday, said the police and KNH figures on the number of KNH visitors during the Holy Week were almost identical.
“There were no untoward incidents, not even pickpocketing was recorded at the KNH during the whole week,” Vicedo said. However, the police manning the entrance gate caught three visitors carrying small quantities of marijuana, he added.
Over 120 police helped secure peace and order at the shrine during the whole week.
‘Prayerful discernment’
Faller, 60, a native of Lucban town, said the multitude of pilgrims was joined by those who are seeking guidance on the coming political exercise.
“A prayerful discernment is what they need for this coming election. Choose wisely for the good of the country,” Faller said in a message to the Filipino people.
He added: “Vote according to your conscience. Choose candidates not because of guns, gold and goons but because of God, goodness and guts.”
He urged the people to “continue to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in choosing the candidates they will vote for.”
The priest said that from the total number of KNH visitors, an estimated 3.1 million devotees walked from Lucena City to Lucban on Good Friday night, a 24-kilometer stretch, for their “Alay Lakad” Holy Week tradition.
In 2002, Faller, with the support of the Diocese of Lucena, built the shrine on a 5-hectare land in Barangay Tinamnan at the foot of the mystical Mt. Banahaw, located some 2 km from the town center and 118 km south of Manila.
Since then, a multitude of devotees have been going to the shrine during the Holy Week, which Faller once described as an “avalanche of faith and devotion.”
Throngs of devotees wait for hours to climb the 300-step “Stairway to Heaven” to reach the 50-foot statue of the resurrected Christ on top of the hill. Guards, KNH staff and volunteers arranged the climb in batches to prevent overcrowding on the hill.
To ensure the safety of devotees, experts conduct a periodic assessment on the structural integrity of the huge concrete icon of the Risen Christ atop the colossal Via Dolorosa with monumental Stations of the Cross strategically spread out along the pathways with the grotto of the Virgin Mary at the center.
