MANILA - Hundreds of thousands of Philippine devotees joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ on Friday, one of the world's largest displays of Catholic faith that this year served as a platform to criticize corrupt officials in the graft-weary nation.

Filipinos turned the streets of Manila into a sea of maroon and gold as they swarmed the "Black Nazarene", a life-sized image of Jesus Christ half-kneeling and bearing a wooden cross, which dates back to at least the 17th century.

Devotees jostled for a chance to pull the thick rope towing the carriage, while others clambered out of the crowd to touch the glass-encased statue.

Around 439,000 people had joined the procession by 8 a.m. on Friday morning, organisers estimated. The crowd is expected to swell in the next several hours as the procession moves along its route.

Many devotees believe touching the statue would bring blessings and heal their illnesses. Nearly 80% of Filipinos identify as Roman Catholic.

Some influential Church leaders took advantage of this year's feast to criticise the political establishment, with the country still reeling from a graft scandal related to overvalued and unbuilt flood mitigation projects that have discouraged investors and slowed economic growth.

Bishop Rufino Sescon, a former parish priest of the Quiapo church, which is the custodian of the Black Nazarene, told devotees to learn from Jesus Christ, who humbled himself for love, unlike certain government officials who cling on to power amid accusations of wrongdoing that has hurt other people.

"Have mercy on the nation," he said. "You should be ashamed; step down voluntarily for the sake of mercy and love," Sescon said in his homily, without naming specific politicians.

The procession, called the "traslacion", or translation, commemorates the transfer of the Black Nazarene from a church inside the old Spanish capital of Intramuros to its present location in the Quiapo church.

The image was brought to the Philippines from Mexico in the 1600s during the galleon trade when the country was still a colony of Spain.

-Mikhail Flores; Editing by David Stanway/Reuters