Confraternity and Brotherhood of Mourning Drums of the Most Holy Christ of Health and Mercy

The founding record of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Christ of Health and Mercy is dated 8 March 1955, when the teaching staff of the Marqués de Comares Secondary and Vocational Institute of Lucena, at the request of the school’s headmaster, José Garzón Durán, considered the possibility of forming a confraternity whose members would have a student character, linked to the image of a crucified Christ, its first procession taking place in the early hours of 7 April 1955, Holy Thursday.

For the creation of the aforementioned Confraternity, the director of the Vocational Institute carried out various negotiations with the Poor Clare Nuns in order to obtain the loan of a Christ of the Expiration held by them in their convent, the work of Pablo de Rojas. Faced with the Poor Clare nuns’ refusal to hand over the crucifix, the image eventually obtained was that of the Cristo de los Desamparados, which had presided for centuries over the chapel of the hospital run by the Escuela de Cristo and which was moved and put on display for worship at the San Mateo parish church to mark the celebration of the 19th centenary of the death of Christ.

The geographical origin of the institute’s director, a native of Salamanca, undoubtedly influenced the severity of that first procession of the confraternity. The absolute silence of the participants —which was likewise demanded of onlookers— together with the darkness of the streets along the route, helped the name the Silence become an immediate popular success for an image whose devotional title had officially been joined only by the nickname the Students. The “staging” of the procession, with the image of Christ dead on the cross illuminated only by four large candles on torch-holders, decisively contributed to creating an atmosphere of public recollection which, in this procession more than in any other, forms an essential part of its identity. From its first procession onward, the Confraternity carried out its penitential station in almost every subsequent year without interruption.

The presence in Lucena, during 1969 and 1970, of a drum confraternity from Baena, accompanying the procession of the Most Holy Christ of the Silence, left a deep mark not only on this Confraternity but also on a group of devotees of the Christ and enthusiasts of the drumbeat who, faced with the void left by the absence of the Baena drummers and captivated by their distinctive sound, promoted the idea that, at the beginning of 1971 —officially on 21 March— it should be suggested to the confraternity’s governing board that a Brotherhood of Mourning Drums be formed in our city, inspired by that of Baena, with the specific purpose of accompanying the procession of the Santísimo Cristo de la Salud y Misericordia with their hoarse and solemn sounds. It was at this moment that the present-day Brotherhood of Mourning Drums was born.

Both entities —the Confraternity and the Brotherhood of Drums— coexisted independently throughout the 1970s. It was in 1980 that the two institutions merged, at a general chapter of brothers held on 8 February, from which point it became known as the Confraternity and Mourning Drums of the Most Holy Christ of the Silence. The new situation arising from the merger brought about a transfer of members from the former Confraternity of the Silence, which was still sentimentally linked to the Marqués de Comares Institute. As had been agreed and as the Confraternity’s new situation required, new statutes were drawn up throughout 1980, which were presented to the brothers for their information at a chapter held on 30 January 1981 and subsequently ratified by the diocesan authority.

It is also worth noting that, in addition to the penitential station the Confraternity carries out in the early hours of Holy Thursday, at a meeting held on 14 March 1973 it was established, on an indefinite basis, that the confraternity would also process on Friday of Sorrows to hold the Way of the Cross as an act of penance. For this occasion, one of the brotherhood’s founding members composed the texts for the fourteen stations. This solemn devotional exercise, of great severity and with a different route each year, is opened by the mourning drums with their classic and solemn beat. It is followed by the guiding cross, preceding the brothers carrying candles, and then the image of Christ on the cross, carried on the shoulders of four brothers and lit only by four torches. For the prayer at each station, the crucifix is placed upright.

Despite the understandable initial difficulties, the passage of time, together with the deep devotion that the Christ of the Silence inspires among the people of Lucena, has allowed the Confraternity and Brotherhood to grow considerably from its origins to the present day. The corporation is currently made up of a total of 923 brothers, of whom approximately 300 regularly take part in the penitential stations.

The venerated image of the Most Holy Christ of Health and Mercy — Christ of the Silence and of the Students — is a carving that remains anonymous for the time being, probably commissioned by the congregation of the Escuela de Cristo at the end of the 17th century from a sculptor, possibly from Granada. The unknown author conceived the sculpture with the greatest possible frontality and symmetry, an intention reinforced by the very cross on which it is mounted: flat, dark, and with the sole addition of the “titulus”. Only small details and the unavoidable asymmetry caused by the overlapping of the feet, fastened with a single nail, slightly alter the figure’s symmetrical solidity.

Most likely at the request of whoever commissioned the piece, the sculptor sought to express the serenity and grandeur of the death of Jesus, achieving a kind of Christ in majesty, triumphant despite the ordeal. And although this is a work born in the full Baroque period, an era marked by expressive drama, this Christ makes no concession whatsoever to theatrical effect. Nevertheless, it moves the faithful profoundly and calls them to piety and meditation.

In contrast to other images of the period, on the Christ of the Silence only faint trickles of blood run down from the forehead wounded by the crown of thorns, or trickle from the wound in the side, the pierced hands and the nailed feet. The knees, which in other representations appear raw and lacerated, show only slight bruising. Without being a masterpiece of religious sculpture, its simplicity is precisely the key to its enormous aesthetic and devotional success.

The head of this life-size Crucified Christ, with correct proportions, appears already overcome by the rictus of death, with closed eyes and the head bowed forward, the beard resting on the chest. The long hair, carved in wavy parallel locks that create a sense of wetness, falls over the back and chest, leaving only the left ear visible.

The sculpture, conceived to be viewed from below and at a certain distance, fully maintains its proportions and anatomical accuracy, with particular attention to the treatment of the legs and arms. Special mention should be made of the loincloth, with its well-judged folds, tied over the right hip with an elegant band decorated with reddish and white stripes. The image thus presents Christ-as-man already a corpse, conveying an overwhelming silence and calling, in a way, for a respectful silence that invites recollection, prayer and meditation.

The current throne on which the image of the Christ of the Silence is processed is carried by a total of 24 santeros. It was in 1971 that the Confraternity unveiled the neo-Renaissance style canopy frame with crestings, decorated with gilded metal cartouches depicting the fourteen Stations of the Cross, set against crimson velvet backgrounds. For this ensemble, the finials and caps from a processional float in Málaga were acquired. The austere ensemble was completed with the four traditional turned wooden torch-holders in dark walnut.

The poor state of conservation of the throne led to major repair work being carried out in 1991 and 1992, along with the restoration of the finials, caps and cartouches. However, it was in 1995 that the project for a new throne for the Christ of the Silence was commissioned. The design was made by founding brother José Ropero, who was also the author of the torch-holders donated in 1996.

The carvings on the float are inspired by details from the altarpieces of the convent of San Juan de Dios, the work of the Lucena-born artists Francisco José Guerrero and José de Boda, two of the great masters of Andalusian Baroque. Cedar wood was used for its execution. The canopy frame consists of four altarpiece-style panels —front, back and two sides— bordered by mitred and carved mouldings.

On the front panel, a cartouche carved with acanthus leaves stands out, adorned with an openwork crest and a central oval bearing the Confraternity’s coat of arms, flanked by coffered panels with gilded brass cartouches depicting scenes of the Passion, made at the Angulo workshops. The rear cartouche bears the brotherhood’s motto and maintains the same ornamental composition. The sides feature three cut and carved corbels dividing each side into four coffered panels with scenes of the Passion. The corners are finished with scrolls and acanthus leaves.

Crowning the top of the canopy frame is a fully cut, openwork and carved cresting. This float first processed in 1999 as part of an initial execution phase. The assembly was carried out by Bernardo Rodríguez, and the carving work was begun by José Ropero. In the year 2000, once the second phase was completed, the float processed in natural cedar wood. Finally, in 2001, the gilding was carried out in gold leaf, combining burnished areas with matte surfaces. The front and rear cartouches, as well as the scenes of the Passion, were polychromed and gilded (estofado technique) at the workshops of the gilder and restorer Cristóbal Cubero, from the neighbouring town of Priego de Córdoba.