We have entered the third millennium and in Segovia the Holy Week, also called Greater Week, is near, celebrating the victory of Jesus against all earthly power, and in our city, as in other many, the procession parades are responsible of informing the crowd that is heaped in the streets and squares of Segovia, of that good news.

Way back remain those images, kept in the memory of the people of Segovia, in which the penitents loaded with their huge and heavy crosses, were accomplishing the procession tour through the streets of the city, and where the metal sound of the chains, that were tied to their feet, may even make move the stones of the two thousand years old Roman aqueduct. The confraternities were accomplishing a great "marathon", leaving their parish churches with the stages, rising to the greater square (where they listened the Sermon of the seven words) for thereinafter to accomplish the inverse tour and to return newly to their parish churches.

During a long period the Holy Week counted with two procession parades, that were celebrated on Thursday and Holy Friday, but as time goes by these parades have been reduced to only one that is celebrated in the afternoon of the Holy Friday. On the contrary, on Holy Thursday a greater number of Fraternities and Confraternities accomplish the "procession movements" of their images towards the Cathedral, where they remain guarded by until their participation in the "Procession of the Stages" of the Holy Friday. Some confraternities accomplish these movements the same morning of Holy Friday.

All the passion Week is surrounded of various acts, among which we should remark the processions and the penitential Via Crucis organised by the different Fraternities and Confraternities and which, generally, they accomplish through the different streets of the neighbourhood. We must indicate that on Holy Wednesday the Board of Confraternities, Fraternities and Parishes accomplishes its penitential Via Crucis. The concentration and religiousness with which this penitential act is celebrated causes that each year a greater number of people gathers, surprised with the vision and with desire of returning the next year. We would like to mention the place of this celebration (the garden of the Carmelite Monks) offering an impressive view (with the Fortress and the Cathedral as fund) and with the candles accompanying the religious songs until the arrival to each one of the stations of the Via Crucis, where prayers are prayed on the part of all the present. .

E-mail

The tradition of the Confraternities, Fraternities and Parishes of the Holy Week of Segovia is soared to many years back, therefore it is not strange to think that it stays in the memory of the people of Segovia since they possess use of reason.
Those images of grandiosity and religiousness that our forebears lived and shared in the last years, seem to recover little by little. The huge shows of popular religiousness that is lived in the city during these dates contrasts with the austerity and concentration of our confraternities and fraternities, which spend many hours and weeks preparing the different acts that will be celebrated throughout the Lent.

 

Fotografía extraida de " El Norte de Castilla"

In 1999, the traditional "Procession of Stages", that is celebrated on Holy Friday , was declared of regional tourist interest, due to the efforts of the Board of Fraternities, confraternities and parishes of the Holy Week of Segovia; and they currently try to achieve our Holy Week to be declared of national tourist interest.

Nuesta solidaridad con las familias de las Victimas del 11 Marzo

Our stages travel close and large street avenues but nothing impresses so much as the seeing to each one of them under the attempts look of the "eyes of the aqueduct". Special mention deserves the print of these crossing some of their arches in the late afternoon of the castillian steppe . Is worth the trouble also to emphasize to all the confreres and parishioners that accompany to the Stages and that without their cooperation would not be possible this popular fervor sample and of Christianity in the street. Each one participates as knows, as wants..., but to each and every one of they them moves the same motive, the huge devotion that sit toward "their Stage".