The Holy Week history

Marcos Cebrián

Throughout its history, Holy Week in Zaragoza has been associated primarily with two religious institutions: the Venerable Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi and the Very Illustrious, Ancient and Royal Brotherhood of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Merciful Mother of God.

The Venerable Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi

Throughout the 18th century, the Venerable Third Order (VTO) of St. Francis of Assisi organized three processions: the Encounter (Holy Tuesday), the Holy Burial (Good Friday) and the Resurrection (Easter Sunday). After the convent of St. Francis was blown up in 1809, community life was suspended until 1815, when the Stations of the Cross were resumed inside the cloister of the destroyed convent, as was the Encounter procession. By 1819, the friars had moved into a new convent and they tried to resume the procession of the Holy Burial following the Descent from the Cross, which resulted in a long dispute with the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ, which was tasked with organizing it from 1827. The VTO continued to hold the Encounter procession during the first decades of the 20th century.

The Very Illustrious, Ancient and Royal Brotherhood of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Merciful Mother of God

One of the duties of the devotees of the convent of St. Francis was to pick up abandoned corpses, a task they gradually left to lay people to perform. To this day, the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ, based in the convent since the 16th century, picks up all the bodies left behind in the judicial district of Zaragoza. The events of the War of Independence destroyed all the floats that had formed part of the Holy Burial procession, except for the Cristo de la Cama (dated around 1622), which was saved. In 1813, the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ moved its headquarters to the church of Santa Isabel, where it resumed its activity, organizing the procession of the Holy Burial and commissioning, during the 19th century, new floats. Its religious headquarters are still in the Church of Santa Isabel de Portugal, from where it continues to organize the procession of the Holy Burial.

The Procession of the Holy Burial

Since 1617, the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ has been responsible for organizing this procession. In the late 18th century, it commissioned various floats representing different mysteries of the Passion, which would be lost during the sieges.

Starting in 1818, the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ again commissioned new processional floats, which were featured during the procession of the Holy Burial. In the early 20th century, this procession was transformed, as most of the floats and the outfits of the groups that marched with them were renovated, new floats were built and new characters and choirs were added to the procession. The procession of the Holy Burial was held in this fashion until 1931. From 1932 to 1934, during the Second Republic, the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ decided not to stage the procession.

The new Confraternities

Starting in 1935, a series of events led the faithful to assemble into various confraternities.

In the eighteenth century, the floats were carried on the shoulders of the so-called terceroles, local farmers and ranchers, who wore a black habit and hood. In 1935, political tension and the problems that the country was experiencing made it very difficult to organize the Procession of the Holy Burial; the terceroles staged a strike, so the floats were taken out by members of religious associations and young people.

In 1937, the first Holy Week confraternity was created, which organized an independent procession and took possession of the float of Our Lady of Mercy. This new confraternity wore a different habit to distinguish it from its parent confraternity, with which it marches in the procession of the Holy Burial.

In successive years, other confraternities were created, up to 24, each with its own characteristics, which carried the floats owned by the Confraternity of the Blood of Christ, or commissioned their own. In 1940, the Confraternity of the Seven Words chose the drum of Lower Aragón to accompany its processions. This instrument was later adopted by most of the confraternities. Some confraternities preferred to bring back other traditions more typical of Zaragoza, such as rattles, noisemakers and the singing of thejota to the beat of the drum.

The most unique feature of our Holy Week is that all of the confraternities, in addition to staging their own processions, join the procession of the Holy Burial to make up a complete Via Crucis, showcasing every image from the Passion.

The Coordinating Board of Confraternities

This entity was created in 1948 due to the growing need to coordinate the various processions.

Its current statutes establish the General Assembly of Elder Brothers as the supreme decision-making body, and a Governing Board, as the executive body, which is elected every four years. Its religious headquarters are in the Church of Santa Isabel de Portugal.

The Coordinating Board of Confraternities is responsible for organizing the Proclamation (Saturday before Palm Sunday) and the Holy Week Contests and Exaltations ofInstruments. During the 2000 Jubilee celebration, the Coordinating Board released a new standard, which has since presided over all the events it organizes.

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