Holy Week 2024 greetings from Nancy Mead, President
Dear Friends,
Palm Sunday greetings from Rhode Island.
Remembering the way of the cross
Holy Week, known as Semana Santa in Spain, holds a special place in my heart. It was on my first Camino that I came to know and love this ancient and unique Spanish tradition.
Twenty four years ago on this day, I attended the Palm Sunday Mass and procession at the monastery in Roncesvalles.
The previous day, a sunny one with magnificent views and even a little leftover snow in the woods, my friend Raquel and I had walked on the Route Napoleon over the Pyrenees to begin our pilgrimage on the Camino Francais.
For the first week as we walked the way of the Camino, we also walked the Way of the Cross.
On Wednesday, at the cathedral in Pamplona, we attended the Chrism Mass where the Holy Oils were blessed. Around the church were large statues on platforms ornately decorated with fresh flowers. Only later we would learn of their significance.
Following the service, parish priests ladled the blessed olive oil into small bottles to be used for various rites throughout the coming church year.
On Maundy Thursday, in Puenta la Reina, we commemorated our Lord’s Last Supper with his disciples. We were moved by the simple altar of repose featuring the earlier-used foot-washing basin and towel, strikingly positioned next to grapes and a loaf of bread, symbols of the Eucharist.
In Estrella, we saw our first procession. Men shouldering enormous floats of religious figures and scenes were carried through the dark streets. It was here we learned about Semana Santa, a religious tradition in Spain that dates from the 16th century.
The Spanish church is a visual one. Much of the teaching throughout the ages has been done through art. Holy Week is no different. Beginning on Palm Sunday, the entire Passion of our Lord is presented night by night with a series of parade-like candlelit processions. Floats weighing up to 2000 pounds, decorated with flowers, make their way through the streets carried by men and now women of various guilds. These guild members, faces covered, are identified by the color and style of their robes and headgear. Each represents a particular profession, parish church or neighborhood. Bands play music specifically written for each night. The tone becomes increasingly somber as Good Friday nears. On Easter day, the processions are joyous celebrations of the Resurrection. Streets are crowded with people of all ages, an interesting mix of piety and party – not unlike Spain itself, not unlike the Camino. Each element of the procession is full of history and symbolism.
On Easter Eve, in the tiny pueblo of Los Arcos, we worshipped in a huge magnificent baroque church full of women and perhaps two or three men. At a reception following the service, our hospitable hostesses told us the men were busy watching a “very important” soccer game. The following morning, the entire town, men included, was in attendance. After the service, candles in hand, we processed through the streets decorated with hanging banners and palms. The Blessed Sacrament was carried in lieu of a statue of the Risen Lord.
We ended the week following streams of people walking out of the town of Sansol. Their destination: an outdoor grotto altar where a Mass was concelebrated by the local parish priests. We ate roast lamb and drank homemade wine with a farmer and his family before continuing our way. Fifteen years later, two Spanish priests staying with me in New York City recognized themselves and our host in the photos I had taken on that day ten years earlier. It was an honor to reciprocate their parish hospitality, albeit with hot dogs in New York street fashion.
The Camino Experience
Since that first Semana Santa, I have been fortunate to take part in Holy Week on other Caminos. The modest processions in tiny villages are as moving as the awesome spectacles in Seville and Granada. I think it is a spiritual and cultural “Camino experience” that should not be missed.
From a Palm Sunday procession in one of the white-washed villages coming down through the cactus; to penitents dragging chains and carrying crosses labelled with their sins; from children wearing miniature versions of the family guild colors to processions under Roman arches in Merida; from a paseo of our Risen Lord carried by females during Covid to the joyous encounter of Jesus and his mother in Caceres; from barefoot musicians in Bilbao to the burly men beneath the floats everywhere and to pious senoras in their mantillas – all weave a rich tapestry of faith, family and tradition.
Making your camino
If you are walking the Camino for religious reasons as I was, I think you would find Semana Santa a deep spiritual experience. If your reason for walking is more cultural, I believe you would be fascinated by Semana Santa’s history and the pageantry. Whatever your motivation for walking the Camino de Santiago, if you happen to be on any of the routes in Spain during Semana Santa, it will be a rich and colorfully rewarding experience.
News from Casa Anglicana
This year I will be spending Easter Day with my family in New York. Later that evening my daughter and I will be returning to Santiago and Casa Anglicana for a week of work and meetings, of which you will hear more later.
On Sunday, April 7, Archdeacon Francisco Javier Alonso from Vigo, and Deacon Anita Miner will offer a joint bilingual Eucharist at 12:30 at Santa Susana. If you are in Santiago, please join us as we celebrate Easter and the beginning of Deacon Anita’s time as our first clergy-in-residence at Casa Anglicana.
Come, open one of our new user-friendly hymnals, make a joyful noise, and give thanks in this beautiful historic church. An Agape will follow at Casa Anglicana. All are welcome.
If you want to stay at Casa Anglicana and add your hometown dot to our map of the world, go to www.booking.com and look for Casa Anglicana del Peregrino/Pension Santa Cristina.
Wherever you find yourself on your Camino of life this Holy Week, on behalf of Bishop Carlos and all the Friends Board, I wish you a joyous Easter.
Nancy H. Mead, Board President
Donations made by check can be mailed to:
The Friends of the Anglican Centre in Santiago de Compostela
PO Box 1789
Radio City Station
New York, NY 10101-1789
The Friends of the Anglican Centre in Santiago de Compostela, Inc. is a 501 © (3) tax exempt entity.
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