kept in the office of the parish priest that is used for blessing people, especially the sick and dying. The Vicário retains the original body torso, with a replica head of (Litsea leytensis) wood (Filipino: Batikulíng) Other replicas Aside from the original image on the high altar and the Vicário main replica, the basilica also owns three external replicas of the image, called Callejeros. These sanctioned replicated effigies are sent to visit various shrines in across the different Catholic dioceses in the country according to popular demand. History Original image The image was made by an anonymous Mexican sculptor and arrived in Manila via galleon from Acapulco, Mexico on May 31, 1606. Folk belief attributes the colour of the image to soot from votive candles burnt before it, although the most popular legend is that it was charred by a fire on the galleon that brought it from Mexico. Researcher of Catholic theology, Monsignor Sabino Vengco meanwhile noted that the image was not charred, but in fact dark through to its core as it was carved from mesquite wood. Vengco based this claim on personal research in Mexico, where he said mesquite wood was a popular medium in the period the image was carved. He also likened it to Our Lady of Antipolo, another popular image of similar provenance and appearance. The image was first enshrined in the Church of San Juan Bautista of the Augustinian Recollects in Bagumbayan, Luneta. In 1608, the image was transferred to the Church of San Nicolás de Tolentino (popularly known as the "Recoletos Church") inside Intramuros. It was enshrined in the retablo mayor or high altar of the church, leaving only for a procession on Palm Sunday. Both the church and the image were destroyed in the Allied bombardment of Manila during its liberation in 1945. Replica and Vandalism (1998) On 9 January 1787, the Augustinian Recollect priests donated a copy of the image to the Church of the Camisa (later renamed Quiapo Church). This donation is celebrated by the faithful every January 9 by means of a procession (the Traslación) from Quiapo Church to Rizal Park (where the aforementioned Church of San Juan Bautista, the image's first home once stood in Bagumbayan) and back to Quiapo. In the 1990s, the Archdiocese of Manila feared that the image might be damaged during the Traslación, fire, or natural disaster. The most notable case was when