Crowds of devotees, numbering close to a million and composed of homecoming Bicolanos, pilgrims, and tourists, are expected to gather along the Bicol River banks at 4 p.m. today for the much-awaited grand fluvial procession of the venerated images of Our Lady of Peñafrancia and the Divino Rostro (Holy Face of Jesus) that will be brought back to the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Waving white handkerchiefs while praying the holy rosary, singing hymns, or kneeling down in adoration as the carriage passes by, the festive fluvial procession along the Bicol River – the highlight of the annual Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia – will bring back the images of “Ina,” the patroness of the Bicol Region, and the Divino Rostro to the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, from the centuries-old Naga Metropolitan Cathedral where the images were brought for the novena masses last September [...]
