For Valladolid, as for all of Castilla y León, Holy Week is a main event in its year. Marked by fire. One of the Holy Week that attracts the most tourism , one of the best known, along with Holy Week in Seville. Holy Week in Valladolid has 20 brotherhoods , and some of the sculptural compositions with the greatest artistic value. Works by Juan de Juni or Gregorio Fernández come out every year on the shoulders of the brothers. As one of the last promotional campaigns for Holy Week in Valladolid said, a museum in the street.
And it is that beyond Holy Week where the different sculptures come together and congregate to make up the steps, the rest of the year they can also be seen and known in the National Sculpture Museum, located in three locations, the main one being the Collegiate Church of San Gregorio, an annex of the popular church of San Pablo.
What acts and processions cannot you miss during Holy Week in Valladolid?
The acts of Holy Week in Valladolid begin on the Friday before the Friday of Dolores (or Friday before Palm Sunday) with the reading of the proclamation , always in the voice of some personality of the city or with deep roots in it.
Friday of pain
The Friday of Dolores leaves the first of the processions that has the Viacrucis as its protagonist, in charge of the Brotherhood of the Holy Burial.
This same day, the brotherhood of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows performs its central act, the Via Crucis , which runs through the main points of the neighborhood.
Passion Saturday
The Cofradía Penitencial de la Sagrada Pasión de Cristo, one of the five historical brotherhoods of the city, performs some of its most popular penitential acts: the procession of the Public Exercise of the Five Wounds , which takes them through the main convents and monasteries in the surroundings of its headquarters, located in the Plaza de la Trinidad.
It is worth waiting for almost the end of the procession and watching it pass through the street of the convents, a narrow street that turns off its lighting as the brotherhood passes.
Palm Sunday
It is known as the children’s day , and they are the protagonists of the Borriquilla procession or procession of palms. All the children’s sections of the 20 brotherhoods of the city participate in it. And it is the children themselves who carry the sculpture on their shoulders , owned by the Santa Vera Cruz Penitential Brotherhood.
In the late evening, the Brotherhood of the Seven Words celebrates the transfer of El Cristo de Laguna de Duero or Cristo de los Trabajos. To this day, this act is carried out in the central walk of Campo Grande, although the tradition was that it was carried on the shoulders from Laguna de Duero to Valladolid. It is one of the most popular acts of Holy Week in Valladolid.
Holy Monday
At 20:30 every Holy Monday the Procession of the Holy Rosary of Pain leaves, in which 5 brotherhoods participate with one step each. Here are several pieces by Gregorio Fernández such as the Virgen de la Vera Cruz. The photograph of the five steps standing in front of San Pablo, at night with its illuminated façade, is very common.
On the night of Holy Monday, the last of the Brotherhoods created also leaves, the Brotherhood of the Beloved Disciple and Jesus of Medinaceli, with its Love and Mercy Procession of the Holy Christ of Medinaceli. The last to go out on Monday night are the brothers of the Royal and Venerable Brotherhood of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and their Procession of the Good Death. This brotherhood is one of those that has its own band, which accompanies not only its titular steps but also that of other brotherhoods in Valladolid or other cities.
Holy Tuesday
It is one of the most special days of Holy Week in Valladolid, as it is the day on which the Encounter between Mary and her son is celebrated (Procession of the Encounter of the Blessed Virgin with her Son in the Calle de la Amargura) .
This act has the concurrence of two brotherhoods, the Penitential Brotherhood of the Santísimo Cristo Despojado, Cristo Camino del Calvario and Nuestra Señora de la Amargura, who carry on their shoulders the image of Christ Camino del Calvario, and the Illustrious Brotherhood Penitencial de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, with the Virgen de las Angustias, a work by Juan de Juni of great beauty and value. The two steps are carried on the shoulders, and coincide in front of the Palace of Santa Cruz and then each one returns to its headquarters. It is one of the most massive processions.
That same night, the Penitential Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus tied to the Column leaves in the Procession of the Pilgrimage of the Promise with its title image Christ Tied in the Column , a wonderful work by Gregorio Fernández. Until 2019, the brotherhood left its headquarters in the Conventual Church of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and reached Pilarica.
Holy Wednesday, one of the most active days of Holy Week in Valladolid
The penitential acts begin with the departure of the Via Crucis of the Illustrious Penitential Brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno , which carries two images on its shoulders, the Nazarene and, by hand, the Christ of the Agony.
Later the procession of Cristo de las Mercedes leaves, one of the most special since all the surrounding lights go out in the Atrium of Santiago , headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Seven Words (the national anthem is also played at the exit of the image of the temple).
Almost at the same time, the Procession of Repentance leaves, with the car ride of Las Lágrimas de San Pedro, and to the sound of the drums .
At midnight the Procession of La Piedad begins, which brings out the images of La Piedad or Quinta Angustia by Gregorio Fernandez , and two Christs. At the same time, the Procession of the Pilgrimage of Consuelo leaves from the convent of San Benito, carried by the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Christ of Consuelo carrying a Christ of Gregorio Fernández.
Holy Thursday
In the morning, the Procession of the Holy Christ of Light is celebrated, an image of Gregorio Fernández, which draws attention to the thorn that comes out of the eye socket, and which is accompanied by the University Brotherhood of Santo Cristo de la Luz.
In the middle of the afternoon, the Procession of Penance and Charity is held, the act in which a prisoner is released and various sanatoriums in the city are visited. This is one of the longest processions of the entire Holy Week in Valladolid, since throughout the afternoon you can find it in various parts of the city.
The Cofradía de la Piedad and the Cofradía de la Preciosísima Sangre, as well as policemen on horseback participate in the procession.
At the same time, the Brotherhood of the Secular Franciscan Order leaves its headquarters with its three titular images on their shoulders in the procession of Humility and Penance. It is worth seeing the exit in the Conventual Church of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary , since the confreres must calibrate each step so as not to hit the cross with the door.
Also at that time , the Brotherhood of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Dolores leaves their headquarters to collect the image they accompany in the Procession of the Exaltation of the Light of Christ.
Simultaneously, the Cofradía de la Sagrada Cena initiates the Procession of the Sagrada Cena , this being the largest and heaviest sculptural ensemble of the entire Holy Week in Valladolid. And the brotherhood of El Descentación and Sto. Christ of the Good Death goes out in the Procession of Bitterness on Mount Calvario to another of Juan de Juni’s Christs.
Half an hour later the figure of Las Tgrimas de San Pedro leaves for a penitential act in the Cathedral. It is followed by the Procession of Christ of Gethsemane, the procession of Prayer and Sacrifice and of the Most Holy Stripped Christ and Our Lady of Bitterness.
A long night
At night, the Procession of the Pilgrimage of Silence of the Nazarenes begins, and the Procession of Regla de la Cofradía Penitencial de la Santa Vera Cruz that removes all its sculptures except La Borriquilla.
Almost midnight, and after a long day, there are still several processions to see. Interesting is the procession of the Verum Corpus , in which the Brotherhood of the Holy Burial carries the Reclining Christ in a car, a magnificent work by Gregorio Fernández.
It is striking because this brotherhood wears an outfit with a tail that brushes the ground and makes a particular noise when walking. Until a couple of years ago, the most striking moment was the crossing of the Pisuerga by one of its bridges, with the lanterns. Now they have shortened and are heading to the Cathedral.
At that same time, in the Royal Parish Church of San Miguel and San Julián, the Procession of Christ to the Humilladero begins, with the “step” “CRISTO YACENTE” (Gregorio Fernández, c.1630), carried on shoulders and lit by the Brotherhood of the Descent and Santo Cristo de la Buena Muerte.
At one o’clock in the morning there is another of the busiest moments of Holy Week in Valladolid: the Rule Procession of the Illustrious Penitential Brotherhood of Nuestra Señora de las Angustias de Sacrificio y Penitencia , in which he takes out his four images headlines on the shoulder , being the image of “Our Lady of Sorrows” the most anticipated (it is known as The Lady of Valladolid ). To see it, you have to make time (at least two hours). He arrives at the Cathedral at approximately four in the morning, and at its headquarters at approximately six.
Holy Friday
At 8 in the morning two processions begin: on the one hand, the Via Crucis of the Franciscans carrying the Naked Cross, and on the other, the Proclamation of the Seven Words (half an hour later), which runs through the main points of the city on horseback. the city calling to attend to listen to the Sermon in the Plaza Mayor in front of all the sculptures of the Brotherhood of the Seven Words.
In the afternoon, the General Procession of the Sacred Passion of the Redeemer takes place, in which the 20 brotherhoods go out and parade with 33 steps to commemorate the Passion of Christ. The Board of Brotherhoods offers tourists seats in the Plaza Mayor to see the entire procession. For the rest of the tour, seeing it takes a few hours on your feet.
After the General Procession, Las Angustias leaves in a procession of women only in the Procession of Solitude with the passage “Our Lady of Sorrows”.
Holy Saturday
At eight in the afternoon the procession of the Holy Burial of Christ takes place in the Conventual Church of the Royal Monastery of San Joaquín and Santa Ana by the Brotherhood of the Holy Burial.
Easter Sunday
On Sunday the Procession of the Encounter of the Risen Jesus with the Virgin of Joy takes place , two of the most controversial sculptural figures in Valladolid since they do not follow the aesthetic canons of Holy Week in Valladolid.
