Roman Catholicism in Spain

by Anonymous

The processions of Holy Week are of a character entirely different from those of Corpus Christi. In the latter all is animation and joy, singing and triumph; but in the former every thing is sadness, seriousness, and grief. All the sculptured figures, called pasos, which are of the natural size and colour, and are carried about in those doleful processions, represent the principal scenes of our Saviour’s passion,—such as his prayer in the garden, the treachery of Judas, the judgment of Pilate, and the crucifixion. In Seville, the processions of Holy Week are of an extent and character renowned all over Christendom. There they bring out one of these pasos, in which are seen the twelve apostles seated at table, with the slight anachronism that their chairs are of the most elegant description that can be manufactured in London or Paris. In the processions we are now describing, besides all those persons we have named as taking a part in that of Corpus Christi, are innumerable penitentes, who are men in masks, dressed in tunics of a white, black, or brown colour, their heads covered with an enormous cone, of the same colour and form used by the magicians or astrologers represented in English theatres. In Granada those tunics, which are called chias, are of black velvet, embroidered with gold or silver, and having a train of six or eight yards in length. The diversity of colour denotes the brotherhood to which the penitent belongs; and these brotherhoods, among which are many of opulence, bear the expenses of the procession.

In some small towns, instead of images of wood, living persons represent the personages of sacred history, and, generally, the young people of both sexes most distinguished for their fine personal endowments are selected to figure on those occasions. Even in Seville, where these ceremonies are performed with something more of decency, may be seen, following a paso, a number of children dressed up so as to represent angels, and each of them carrying an instrument connected with our Lord’s passion, viz., the nails, the spunge, the lance, and the crown of thorns. There are also three persons to represent three of the principal doctors of the church who have defended the dogma of transubstantiation. In the midst is placed one young girl who plays the part of Veronica; and it is but a few years ago that she who was performing this part, not being adequate to the fatigue of the day, followed by a severe cold, was taken ill, and in a few hours died from the effects of her exertions and exposure. It is usual to reward the young woman who plays this part with an ounce of gold.

In a certain country-town in Spain there are two pasos, one representing our Saviour and the other the Virgin, and when the procession turns to enter the church, scarcely has the former been introduced when the second approaches, but before she can get within the porch the door is shut, and thereupon the whole concourse of attendants burst out into bitter sobs and crying, deploring that the mother of our Lord is denied the favour of following her Son into the sacred edifice.

The most solemn and brilliant of all the processions of Holy Week in Seville is that of the holy burial (Santo Entierro), the name of which indicates its object; and the expenses which it occasions are so considerable, that it is celebrated only once in four or five years,—an interval of time necessary for the brotherhoods to accumulate the required amount, which, according to assurances from persons likely to know the fact, does not fall far short of four thousand pounds sterling. The figure which on this occasion represents the dead body of our Saviour, and which is a fair work of art, is placed in an urn made of large squares of glass, in framework of silver, and adorned with extraordinary magnificence. Behind this goes the image of the Virgin, also the size of life, in a cloak of black velvet embroidered with silver, on her head a crown of gold, and in her hand, as if to wipe away her tears, an exceedingly rich cambric pocket-handkerchief, embroidered and trimmed with the most costly Brussels lace. There is also in this procession a figure emblematical of death, which is represented by a human skeleton at the foot of a cross. Such is the importance given in all Andalusia to the procession of the holy funeral, that the year in which it is celebrated forms an epoch in the history of Seville, and for many years, both before and afterwards, nothing else is spoken of. Many persons from Madrid and other principal cities, and even the English employés of the garrison of Gibraltar, are present in the Andalusian capital on these occasions.

As a proof that Spaniards themselves, and even the

clergy, consider these ceremonies as a mere mundane spectacle, it is related of a king of Spain that, having gone to Seville at a time very far distant from the Holy Week, he was favoured by the authorities and the chapter with all the rites, feasts of the church, and processions, appropriate to that holy occasion.

In all the towns of Spain the last week of Lent is celebrated by processions. Where there are no pasos, or groups of statues, to represent the scenes of the passion, these are substituted by real men and women, among whom are distributed the parts of the Virgin, the apostles, Pilate, and the Saviour himself;—and this profanation does not excite the least scruple in a nation calling itself Christian.

It is certain that this abuse greatly prevailed in all the nations of Europe during the middle ages, and that such was the origin of those so-called mysteries, which, in reality, were but a species of sacred dramatic representation that preceded the true comedy, and turned the porch, and even the altar, of the sanctuary, into a theatre. But those customs disappeared at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and have not since been in use except in Spain.

Besides the processions of Corpus Christi, and those of Holy Week, there are several others paid for by the clergy themselves, by the brotherhoods, or by the public, according to the favourite devotions in the respective localities. The city of Valencia is particularly noted for its attachment to this class of exhibitions. There is scarcely a week in the year in which two or three processions are not celebrated there, in which a

great majority of the people take a part. On these occasions all useful labours are suspended, and the sums which are spent in ornaments, music, and, above all, in wax, are beyond calculation. Every individual in the procession carries a wax candle in the hand. The images of the saints are adorned with great profusion. The balconies of the houses make an ostentatious display of rich festoons and garlands; while the presence of the authorities and of the troops, which serve as an escort to the clergy, the flowers which cover the streets, and the music, both military and religious, which never fails on these occasions, form a whole more like a public amusement than any part of religious worship.