During the last week of Lent, leading up to Easter, hundreds of Catholic groups in cities and towns across Spain take part in traditional processions, celebrating the stories and lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Penitents wearing robes and tall hoods carry flower-covered platforms topped with statues; along with marching bands, they parade across bridges and through narrow streets.
Holy Week Processions in Spain
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![A close view of a woman wearing a traditional veil, with a shadow cast over her face by another's veil.]()
Read moreA woman wearing a traditional mantilla takes part in the procession of Holy Monday on April 3, 2023, in Granada, Spain. #
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![People wearing tall white hoods stand together. One at the center holds an ornate book.]()
Read moreA penitent of the brotherhood Los Dolores holds a holy book before taking part in a procession on April 3, 2023, in Granada, Spain. #
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![A big crowd completely fills a bridge, standing on either side of a parade route, as a platform is carried past.]()
Read moreA platform that supports a statue of the Virgin Mary is carried during a procession in Seville, Spain, on April 2, 2023. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
![A person wearing a tall, pointed hood walks past blooming trees.]()
Read moreA penitent of Los Estudiantes brotherhood walks past blooming trees before taking part in the Holy Tuesday procession in Seville on April 4, 2023. #
Cristina Quicler / AFP / Getty -
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![A group of women wearing traditional veils and dresses wait inside a church.]()
Read moreWomen and a girl wearing traditional mantillas wait inside a church to take part in a procession in Ronda, Spain, on April 3, 2023. #
Jon Nazca / Reuters -
![A line of people wearing monk's hoods walk through a tunnel while carrying torches.]()
Read moreA procession of penitents from the brotherhood of the Christ of Good Death walk the streets on April 4, 2023, in Zamora, Spain. #
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![Several people stand at an open window above a banner depicting a weeping Virgin Mary. One of them is singing.]()
Read moreWorshipper Jose Maria Segura sings a "saeta" as the Virgin Mary is carried out of the church during the procession of the "El Cerro" brotherhood in Seville, Spain, on April 4, 2023. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
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![A group of people gather to lift a platform with a statue of the Virgin Mary on it.]()
Read moreCostaleros belonging to La Pollinica brotherhood carry a statue of the Virgin Mary as they move it inside a church to take part in a Palm Sunday procession in Ronda, Spain, on April 2, 2023. #
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![A group of people wearing hoods carries a large platform.]()
Read morePenitents from the Brotherhood of the Holy Christ of Forgiveness take part in a procession on April 4, 2023, in Leon, Spain. #
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![A close view of the feet of several people walking close together, wearing long robes. One of the people is barefoot.]()
Read moreFeet of the penitents of the Brotherhood of the Holy Christ of Forgiveness, photographed on April 4, 2023, in Leon, Spain #
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![An ornate platform with a statue of Jesus Christ is carried through a street at night.]()
Read moreA platform with a statue of the Jesus de la Amargura (Jesus of Bitterness) of the Via Crucis brotherhood passes in front of the Alhambra, one of the most visited monuments in Spain, during Holy Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Granada, Spain. #
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![A close view of a person carrying a candle and wearing a hood]()
Read moreA penitent member of the Hermandad Penitencial de las Siete Palabras procession, seen during Holy Week in the northwestern Spanish city of Zamora on April 5, 2023 #
Cesar Manso / AFP / Getty -
![Several dozen people wearing white robes and tall conical hoods stand together in a plaza.]()
Read morePeople acting as penitents, belonging to La Paz brotherhood, take part in a Palm Sunday procession in Seville on April 2, 2023. #
Marcelo del Pozo / Reuters -
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![Several children march in a street wearing yellow conical hoods with a large cutout for their face.]()
Read moreChildren wearing penitent hoods take part in a procession on the eve of Holy Week at Salesians school in Cordoba, Spain, on March 31, 2023. #
Manu Fernandez / AP -
![People stand on balconies looking over a narrow street as a parade passes by carrying a platform with a statue of Jesus Christ.]()
Read morePeople watch from their balconies as the statue of Christ of the Via Crucis brotherhood passes through the Albaicín neighborhood, on Holy Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Granada. #
Carlos Gil Andreu / Getty -
![A line of people wearing red cone-shaped hoods marches in a street.]()
Read morePenitents of the Dulce Nombre de Jesus brotherhood take part in the Miserere procession in Baena, southern Spain, on April 3, 2023. #
Manu Fernandez / AP -
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![A line of people wearing monk's hoods and carrying torches walks down a narrow street.]()
Read morePenitents from the Cristo de la Buena Muerte brotherhood take part in a procession in Zamora on April 4, 2023. #
Bernat Armangue / AP -
![A backlit view of a woman wearing a traditional veil]()
Read moreA woman wearing a traditional mantilla, belonging to Huerto brotherhood, leaves a church as she takes part in a procession in Ronda, on April 3, 2023. #
Jon Nazca / Reuters -
![People wearing robes and conical hoods walk out of a church.]()
Read morePenitents of the Huerto brotherhood leave a church as they take part in a procession in Ronda, on April 3, 2023. #
Jon Nazca / Reuters -
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![A line of people wearing traditional robes and hoods marches through a large crowd.]()
Read moreThe procession of the San Gonzalo brotherhood takes place in Seville on April 3, 2023. #
Marcelo Del Pozo / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![About a dozen people stand side by side, wearing white robes, capes, and conical white hoods.]()
Read morePeople acting as penitents, belonging to La Paz brotherhood, take part in a Palm Sunday procession in Seville on April 2, 2023. #
Marcelo Del Pozo / Reuters
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