Processions and Costumes and Statues, Oh My!

A look at the beautiful Holy Week processions in Spain. And are processions pagan?

It’s Holy Week! For Catholics online, that means two things: the biggest celebration of the liturgical year is approaching, and the anti-Catholic posts by protestants are ramping up. Evangelicals on X, Facebook, and Instagram (probably TikTok too, but I’m not on there) light up social media with pictures and videos of long-held Catholic customs of celebration during Holy Week. “Paganism!” they boldly proclaim, “that’s not Christian!” It’s a tiresome routine, but it’s the routine. So I thought it would be fun to highlight one of the ancient customs they often post about: Semana Sancta (Holy Week) in Spain.

The Sanjuaninos

History

The men in the picture above are known as the Sanjuaninos, or the “Brotherhood of San Juan,” specifically, St. John the Evangelist. These brothers are found in the town of Aviles, Spain, the site of one of the most popular processions during Holy Week.

The Sanjuaninos are a relatively new brotherhood, in comparison to the many other brotherhoods in Europe. They began in 1947 when young men wanted to give greater splendor to external worship of God. The brotherhood focuses on young men who are single, commit to living a chaste life, and are pious in their faith. In others words, they’re devout faithful young men who are proud of their Catholic faith and their Catholic heritage.

They made their first Holy Week appearance on March 24, 1948 with the float (or andilla) that is carrying a statue of St. John (San Juan). It was originally much smaller, only needing to be carried by four members, but it has evolved over the decades to the gorgeous andilla it is now, required 18 members to carry it. In 1953, they introduced their habit that is seen in the picture above and in this video.

In the video, you’ll notice their emphasis on drums. This is their official band, which came about in 1984. When they made their debut, they impressed the city of Aviles with their coordination, vitality, and determination.

As they have grown, they have continued to focus on ensuring that everyone of their members is aware of what it mens to be a member of the San Juan Brotherhood, recognizing the responsibility that comes with being a bearer and representative of the Brotherhood. Today, the Sanjuaninos boasts 280 members.

The Habit & Andilla

The Habit the Sanjuaninos don are symbolism and meaning through and through. Their coat of arms consists of a Shield with an eagle, which traditionally has been the symbol for St. John the Evangelist. It is embedded in the center of a green cross which is itself derived from the coat of arms of Catholic Action.

The suit they wear consists of the executioner (aka, the hat), which is a white cloth meant to symbolize purity of the celibate St. John. There is also a cape as well as a habit which is made of blue satin (could be blue for devotion to Mary, as St. John was charged by Our Lord with caring for her, but this is speculation on my part as I could not find anything specific on this). Finally, they have a girdle, which consists of a white cord that ties the habit to the waist with 7 knots on each end, together symbolizing the 14 scenes of the Via Crucis, or the Stations of the Cross.

The andilla has poles called hairpins which are used to support the float and the statue of St. John. The andilla itself is a wooden structure that shows the coat of arm and scenes from the Via Crucis, and finally the statue of St. John atop.

Finally, in the video you will notice the large cross that is carried by five members of the Brotherhood. It may not look like much, but it has enormous weight and size.It is placed in the church yard to commemorate the death and subsequent remove of Christ.

Celebrations Throughout Spain

The city of Sevilla (pictured) has the biggest celebrations in Spain, and is an internationally famous event. The traditional procession begins at night on Holy Thursday and continues to the morning of Good Friday. This is when all the processions make their way to the Cathedral. More than half a million people will gather on the streets for this procession, which dates back to 1340 when the oldest brotherhood began the procession. Today, six brotherhoods participate in the procession.

The other main region where Spanish Holy Week festivities take place is Camilla and Leon. In this region, the celebrations tend to be much more solemn, with a focus on the Passion of Christ.

Salamanca (above) is a city with one of the oldest Easter traditions in Spain, with a total of 22 processions during the week.

Segovia (above) also has very solemn processions. These, coupled with architectural backdrop of palaces and the cathedral, makes this a beautiful place to experience the celebrations.

Avila (above) has had Easter celebrations since the 16th century. In contrast to the louder celebrations described above, Avila is known for celebrations in which thousands of people are quiet, solemnly contemplating the passion of our Lord.

Is this Pagan?

To put it simply, no. Nor are these idolatrous. Nobody believes these statues are actually Jesus or Mary or St. John. There is not attribution of divine qualities or divine power, and there is no worship of these statues. They are just statues, created by man, for express and unique purpose of bringing glory to God. Most often, they date back to a time when many people were illiterate, and so like the stained-glass windows of Cathedrals, these statues were made to tell the gospel story.

Does it do Him justice? No, of course not. It would be impossible to do justice to the beauty of an Infinite God. But that does not mean doing so is pointless. When my children bring me pictures of our family, should I just throw them in the garbage because they do not perfectly and completely represent our family? I think any reasonable person would say “absolutely not.” When my children bring me pictures of our family, pictures of them smiling, pictures of happy memories of family vacations, it brings me joy to know that they appreciate what my wife and I have done for them, and to know that they know they are loved and cherished.

Similarly, man in his limited nature, seeks to finds ways of creating things which draw one another toward God, elevating the heart and mind by the presentation of the Divine Mysteries that were lived out by Our Lord for our very own salvation. The prohibition against graven images in the Old Testament was about creating idols, which were believed to be gods themselves, and which were worshipped as such.

Processions are entirely biblical. Look at the procession of the Israelites with the Ark around Jericho until the walls fell down - commanded by God! And speaking of the Ark, recall how the Israelites made statues of the cherubim which would be placed on either side of the Ark - commanded by God! Or how the Israelites made a bronze serpent to which they would look for healing - commanded by God! Or, consider the fact that St. Paul explicitly says that Christ Himself is the image of the invisible God.

So I leave this for our evangelical brothers and sisters: just because a celebration from an older culture is different than how you fit Christianity to your small 21st-century view, does not mean that the celebration itself is de facto “pagan.” In fact, I’d encourage you to consider this: these celebrations are part of your heritage too. Take some time to get to know them. Their beauty may surprise you.

I hope you liked learning a little about the Holy Week celebrations in Spain and processions in general. If you liked this article, please consider liking, sharing, and subscribing.

God bless!

Derek