Palm Sunday

There is not a more solemn and important time in the Catholic calendar than the Holy Week, when we commemorate the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord. This week, I will be sharing some pictures and interesting notes regarding the celebrations which, thank God, endure in the once-capital of the Peruvian Viceroyalty, and the author’s hometown of Arequipa.

Lima – Palm Sunday

 

In the once-called “City of Kings,” to commemorate the start of this sacred period, there are processions that see the images of the Lord in the Garden, the Lord with the Staff (reed,) the Captive Nazarene, and Our Lady of the Highest Sorrow come out from the monastery of the Trinitarian nuns. There is also an image of the Lord Triumphant, which departs from the monastery of the Nazarenes.

The Captive Nazarene

The Lord Triumphant

Afterwards, the parishioners attend mass in the churches all over the city, where palms and olive branches, sometimes carved with a bust of Christ, are blessed. By the afternoon, after praying the Holy Rosary publicly in the main square, there are new processions. Once again the Lord in the Garden (representing the first sorrowful mystery) the Ecce Homo (second sorrowful mystery), and the Captive Nazarene (third sorrowful mystery), all from the Trinitarian monastery are brought out, followed by the Lord Falling (fourth sorrowful mystery) from the monastery of Saint Dominic, the Holy Christ of Burgos (fifth sorrowful mystery) from the monastery of St. Clare, and Our Lady of the Highest Sorrow, once more, from the Trinitarian nunnery. The sacred train departs from the Cathedral Basilica of Lima.

The Captive Nazarene departs the Cathedral

The Holy Christ of Burgos departs the Cathedral

Our Lady of the Highest Sorrow

In olden times, there was also an image of the “Lord on the little donkey,” as it was popularly called, representing Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which departed from the (now gone) chapel of Baratillo.

Arequipa – Palm Sunday

 

Early in the morning the images of the Lord of Palms depart from the three monasteries in the city: St. Catherine, St. Teresa, and St. Rose. In addition, in the area of Yanahuara, the Lord Triumphant embarks on a local circuit atop a living, young donkey.

Nearing noon, like in Lima, the worshipers fan out to their respective churches and have palms, as well as olive and rosemary branches, blessed and which, yet again, may bear an image of Christ.

The Lord of the Great Power

During the late afternoon there is a great procession (somewhat new, given that the images involved date from the mid-20^th century) with the image of the Lord of the Great Power (a reproduction of an image in Seville) and Our Lady of Sorrow (brought from Spain) that sets out from the Cathedral Basilica of Arequipa.

Our Lady of Sorrow