The EcoWaste Coalition has urged devotees of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno to celebrate Traslacion 2025 in an environmentally responsible way by avoiding litter and embracing ecological practices. The group gathered outside Quiapo Church today to promote their advocacy for a cleaner and greener feast of the Black Nazarene.
With millions expected to join the January 9 procession, the zero-waste advocacy group reminded devotees of their responsibility to keep the processional route free from garbage. This aligns with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) call for ecological action, issued during their 128th Plenary Assembly in July 2024.
“Our advocacy for reduced use and disposal of single-use plastics during the massive feast of the Black Nazarene is a concrete way of putting the bishops’ call for ecological action into practice,” said Ochie Tolentino, Zero Waste Campaigner for the EcoWaste Coalition.
Past celebrations of the Black Nazarene feast have seen streets littered with plastic waste, including water bottles, food containers, bags, and even cigarette butts and vapes.
“As our nation is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, we are challenged to integrate our duty to care for God’s creation in all aspects of our lives, including in the celebration of our faith,” Tolentino added.
The EcoWaste Coalition highlighted simple actions that devotees can take to combine faith with environmental stewardship, such as avoiding single-use plastics, properly sorting waste, and using designated trash bins.
Here are photos from today’s call to action event:
During their event, the group encouraged clergy and laity to adopt eco-friendly practices in their parish celebrations of the Black Nazarene feast. They recited a “Panalangin ng Bayan” for a peaceful and trash-free Traslacion, followed by a mini-parade and clean-up around Quiapo Church.
Community members from Tondo, Manila, emphasized their message by carrying brooms and dust pans while wearing placards with reminders like “Kalakip ng debosyon ang malinis na Traslacion (Part of devotion is a clean Traslacion).”
“We hope that our people’s enduring and unparalleled devotion to Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno could evolve to reflect our shared responsibility to care for our common home, as Pope Francis has pleaded in his encyclical Laudato Si,” the group concluded.
Let’s honor faith and the environment this Traslacion. Share this story to inspire others to take part in creating a cleaner and greener celebration for the Jesus Nazarene.
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