189 San Antolin and the cofradia processions of Murcia, Spain

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The Holy Week processions in Murcia, Spain, are a big deal. Usually during Holy Week, they involve huge floats, each built, decorated and carried by a different Catholic brotherhood. These are neigbourhood organizations people are extremely attached to. The result is a mix between extreme religious solemnity and football fan enthusiasm. The fifteen brotherhoods (many now include a small number of women) carry several dozen floats around town. The floats carry giant statues, often of Jesus at some moment in the passion story: Jesus entering Jerusalem, the agony in the garden, the flogging, and so on.  Each cofradia brotherhood is convinced that theirs is better decorated and more beautiful than the others. As each float moves through the streets, someone will shout, for example, “Long live the Christ attached to the column” and the crowd will shout “viva!”.

Many of the statues were made in the 18th  century by the great religious sculptor, Francisco Salzillo, who was born in Murcia and worked there.


Very occasionally (for example in the jubilee year of 2025) the processions happen twice in the year, so I accidentally got to see them in November 2025, when I was visiting Murcia for the first time since 1994.


The statues are stored and decorated in a few churches in the town, including San Antolin, and these photos show various parts of this church and then the floats moving round the streets.

























































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