Pátzcuaro is a destination on religious pilgrimages of the faithful throughout the year. But observance of the days preceding Easter are especially powerful and emotionally charged.
The stage is set, as it were, by the Altar de Dolores (Altar of Sorrows) that are set up in more than twenty locations in Centro—not only in the Básilica and Churches but in the Palacio Municipal (City Hall), Library, local Theater, hotels, schools and even some private houses, including the Bishop's Residence, situated on the Plaza Grande.
By far, the most elaborate and beautiful of these Altars is the one set up in front of City Hall (see below), which induces a distinct cultural jolt among those of us raised in a tradition of strict separation of Church and State.
Altar de Dolores (Altar of Sorrows), Palacio Municipal, Pátzcuaro
Semana Santa, Holy Week, in Pátzcuaro is very different from Holy Week in the United States. Almost all Mexicans are Roman Catholic, and their Easter traditions originated in Catholic Spain 400 years ago.
Processions through the streets and other events represent the last week of the life of Jesus. The images are extraordinarily vivid in their portrayal of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus and of the suffering of his mother, the Virgin Mary. They provoke an immediate emotional reaction. To those of us with a Protestant heritage, they can be strange and even disturbing . Here you will encounter this Mexican experience.
Good Friday morning began for us with the procession up to Calvario Church, located on the road leading up the volcanic mountain called Estribo.
In the procession, men and women from the Church's confradas (lay service organizations) carried on their shoulders wooden platforms on which rested statues of Jesus, Mary, and John the Disciple, whom Jesus charged with caring for Mary.
When the procession reached the area in front of Calvario Church, a man from the Church, in a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus, was placed on an actual wooden cross. On either side of 'Jesus' were two other men representing the two thieves. All three remained on their crosses for less than an hour before being taken down.
The crowd of watchers then began to disperse—many taking advantage of traditional Mexican food offered for sale by residents of houses along the route of the procession. One family had offered chairs on their balcony for observers willing to pay for a better view.
Tonight after dark was the Procession of Christ Crucified. We waited patiently with others for the arrival of the procession. We spotted the white canopy first, but had no idea what it was until it close enough for us to see a priest walking under it, carrying the Host, which embodies the presence of Christ.
Christ Crucified is draped in purple, which symbolizes His Suffering and Passion.
Good Friday morning began for us with the procession up to Calvario Church, located on the road leading up the volcanic mountain called Estribo.
In the procession, men and women from the Church's confradas (lay service organizations) carried on their shoulders wooden platforms on which rested statues of Jesus, Mary, and John the Disciple, whom Jesus charged with caring for Mary.
Women of the Confrada carry the image of Mary, Mother of Sorrows
The men of the confrada wore shirts bearing the message (loosely translated), "Jubilee Year celebrating 350 years of miraculous movement of the Lord of the Third Order." (Third Orders are church lay organizations, distinquished from clergy and monastic orders.)
Message on back of shirts worn by men in the Confrada
When the procession reached the area in front of Calvario Church, a man from the Church, in a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus, was placed on an actual wooden cross. On either side of 'Jesus' were two other men representing the two thieves. All three remained on their crosses for less than an hour before being taken down.
Tonight after dark was the Procession of Christ Crucified. We waited patiently with others for the arrival of the procession. We spotted the white canopy first, but had no idea what it was until it close enough for us to see a priest walking under it, carrying the Host, which embodies the presence of Christ.
Following the priest came a seemingly endless procession of Crosses, brought by the confradas from their Churches in Pátzcuaro and from Churches in nearby pueblos to be part of this procession. The first Cross was cradled tenderly in the arms of two men.
Christ Crucified is draped in purple, which symbolizes His Suffering and Passion.
Next came the Cross of the Sacred Heart. The handwritten sign, "The Holy Cross of Saint Lazarus," touched me for its unapologetic simplicity.
Next came a Black Christ.
Christ shrouded in His Tomb.
The Sorrowful Mother of Christ dressed in the black of mourning, carried by women of the Confrada.
The Cruz Verde, or Green Cross, with the Rays of God emanating from the empty cross draped in white, which symbolizes not only purity, but mourning as well. The Cruz Verde was the only 'empty' Cross in the procession.
The color green carries complex symbolic meanings. In the Aztec culture, green connoted royalty because it was the color of the quetzal plumes worn by Aztec chiefs. Green is also associated with resurrection and regeneration. Fiesta Day for Cruz Verde is May 3, which coincides with planting in the Lake Pátzcuaro region.
The color green carries complex symbolic meanings. In the Aztec culture, green connoted royalty because it was the color of the quetzal plumes worn by Aztec chiefs. Green is also associated with resurrection and regeneration. Fiesta Day for Cruz Verde is May 3, which coincides with planting in the Lake Pátzcuaro region.
The last Cross was remarkable for its humanity and its simplicity.
The Procession ended as it began...in silence. We, like the others who had stood near us watching, began walking away slowly, quietly, reflectively.
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