Hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees joined an annual procession in the Philippines of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ on Thursday in one of the world’s grandest displays of Catholic devotion and expressions of faith.

More than half a million Catholic devotees participated on Thursday in the centuries-old Black Nazarene procession in Manila, seeking blessings and miracles while navigating massive crowds that left nearly 470 injured.

Hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims swarmed the streets of Manila in search of a miracle, straining to reach a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in an annual display of religious fervour.

Thousands of worshippers joined a mass as the religious Feast of the Black Nazarene festival continued through the night in the Philippines. Footage shows the devotees twirling white towels as the carriage holding the black Jesus statue set off from the Quirino Grandstand in the capital Manila on January 9.