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Holy Week<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”80px||80px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”43px||43px||true|false” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”Poppins|600|||||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Guia-Turistica-de-la-Semana-Santa-de-Lucena.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Download the Official Tourist Guide to Holy Week in Lucena ” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”17px” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#4a3552″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”10px” button_font=”Poppins||||||||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
<\/span>Holy Week in Lucena<\/b> is one of the oldest, most distinctive and culturally rich expressions of popular religiosity in Andalusia. Declared a<\/span>Festival of Tourist Interest in Andalusia in 2003<\/b>, the town is currently working towards its recognition as a <\/span>Festival of National Tourist Interest<\/b>, supported by a tradition rooted in the sixteenth century and by a living intangible heritage that has survived political, economic, and religious upheavals, adapting and projecting itself with renewed strength into the twenty-first century.<\/span><\/p>\n Its hallmark tradition, the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019, recognised in 2025 as an Asset of Cultural Interest (Bien de Inter\u00e9s Cultural)<\/strong> of an intangible nature, is much more than a processional technique: it is a ritual model, autonomous and unique in the world, passed down orally from generation to generation, which embodies its own symbolic language, aesthetic and liturgy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 has trascended the strictly religious sphere to become a social, cultural, and economic phenomenon of great significance, serving as a source of community cohesion and a powerful vehicle for international recognition and projection<\/strong>. Its continued development supports the local economy through the activity of artisan workshops, heritage-related sectors, hospitality, retail, and tourism, generating employment, stimulating economic activity, and helping to position Lucena as a leading cultural destination.<\/p>\n It is important to emphasise that the history of Holy Week in Lucena, a living expression of catechesis, is closely linkedboth to the evolution of its brotherhoods and confraternities \u2015institutions that sustain and preserve its sacred artistic heritage\u2015 and to the evolution of the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 itself.<\/strong> Independent from the brotherhoods, the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 is the organisation whose mission is to carry out the processions of the sacred images. In Lucena, the brotherhood or confraternity entrusts the procession to a \u2018cuadrillero\u2019 or \u2018manijero\u2019, depending on the institution, and he is responsible for \u2018aviar\u2019 (organise) the group of men who, forming a \u2018cuadrilla\u2019 (processional crew), carry the thrones in procession. Thus, a \u2018manijero\u2019 or \u2018santero\u2019 is not attached to a particular brotherhood and may, throughout his life as a \u2018santero\u2019, take part in the procession of all the thrones that make up Holy Week in Lucena. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fotografia-Jesus-Canete-Fernandez-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Photography: Jes\u00fas Ca\u00f1ete Fern\u00e1ndez” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”94%” max_width=”100%” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.17)” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fotografia-Jesus-Canete-Fernandez-1-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Photography: Jes\u00fas Ca\u00f1ete Fern\u00e1ndez (1)” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”94%” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.17)” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”967.5px” custom_padding=”80px||0px||false|false” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fotografia-Jesus-Canete-Fernandez-4-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Photography: Jes\u00fas Ca\u00f1ete Fern\u00e1ndez (4)” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.17)” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”Poppins|600|||||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Popular religiosity in Lucena, as in much of Spain, was strengthened in the wake of the <\/span>Council of Trent<\/b> (1545-1563), which promoted the public veneration of sacred image as a catechetical tool and as a means of reaffirmation in the face of the Protestant Reformation. The<\/span>penitential brotherhoods<\/b> emerged at this time as open associations with devotional, charitable, and social functions: the care of foundlings, assistance to the sick and prisoners, the provision of dignified burials, and prayers for the souls of the deceased.<\/span><\/p>\n The first Lucena Brotherhood whose existence is documented, that of Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Asunci\u00f3n (Our Lady of the Assumption)<\/strong>, is representative of this, as it was responsible for the care of foundling children, a function also carried out by the Santa Caridad (Holy Charity Brotherhood)<\/strong>, which additionally provided care for the sick and assistance to prisoners and those awaiting execution.<\/p>\n In some cases, the strengthening of guild, professional, and, at times, geographical ties<\/strong> through a patron saint or a Marian devotion was determining factor in the establishment of certain brotherhoods. Nor were there devout associations particularly linked to the neighbourhood<\/strong>s.<\/p>\n In <\/span>1554<\/b> the <\/span>Santa Veracruz (Holy Vera Cruz Brotherhood)<\/b>, linked to the Franciscans, is documented. T<\/span>he sixteenth century was a period rich in the foundation of brotherhoods which, despite significant losses, left indelible traces of their presence in the town. Throughout that century, numerous brotherhoods were founded; among them, the Passion brotherhoods: Nuestra Se\u00f1ora del Carmen (Our Lady of Carmen), Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Pasi\u00f3n (Our Lady of Passion), Santa Veracruz (Holy Vera Cruz), Jes\u00fas Nazareno (Our Father Jesus the Nazarene) and Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude).<\/p>\n From the outset, these corporations carried out a catechetical function and included in their Holy Week processions different types of penitents known as \u2018hermanos de sangre\u2019 (brothers of blood)<\/strong>, <\/em>who practiced corporal mortification, and \u2018hermanos de luz\u2019 (brothers of light)<\/strong>, <\/em>who carried candles or wax torches. Another common practice of the penitential brotherhoods was the observance of the Station of the Cross (v\u00eda crucis). <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fotografia-Jesus-Canete-Fernandez-3-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Photography: Jes\u00fas Ca\u00f1ete Fern\u00e1ndez (3)” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” max_width=”100%” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.17)” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”80px||0px||false|false” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fotografia-Jesus-Canete-Fernandez-2-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Photography: Jes\u00fas Ca\u00f1ete Fern\u00e1ndez (2)” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” max_width=”76%” custom_padding=”0px|||||” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.17)” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”Poppins|600|||||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The <\/span>Barroque period<\/b> brought an unprecedent flourishing: brotherhoods multiplied, chapels were enriched, and new sacred images and processional furnishings were acquired. The <\/span>Plaza Nueva<\/b> became the great stage of public religiosity, with large processions and a strong element of popular participation.<\/span><\/p>\n But the 18th century brought a change. <\/span>Bourbon regalism<\/b> and Enlightenment thought criticised the brotherhoods for their \u201cexcess\u201d of external acts. The <\/span>Royal Decree of Charles III of 1784<\/b> limited expenditure, prohibited certain practices, and required the regularisation of constitutions. The <\/span>Concordat of 1753<\/b> subordinated the Church to the Crown in temporal matters, reducing the autonomy of the brotherhoods and confraternities.<\/span><\/p>\n During the reign of Charles IV, in 1798, with the permission of the Holy See and with the aim of reducing the Public Debt, a process of disentailment<\/strong> was initiated which affected several brotherhoods in Lucena, forcing them to invest the proceeds from the sale of certain assets in goverment bonds, the income from which gradually declined until it desappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”Poppins|600|||||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/span>Bishop Pedro Antonio de Trevilla<\/b> (1805-1832) imposed severe reforms and, in 1820, a diocesan decree approved by his Council of Chamber and Government became known, by which the celebrations were reduced to the afternoon of Good Friday. <\/strong><\/span>Processional canopies were also expressly prohibited, as were inappropiate garments on the images, as well as any jewels of precious stones, gold, silver, hairstyles, or any adornment deemed unsuitable in any respect. The processional groups of the Descendimiento (Descent from the Cross), Los Ap\u00f3stoles (The Apostles), Disc\u00edpulos (Disciples), \u00c1ngeles (Angels), Sibilas (Sibyls), or Virtudes (Virtues) were also suppressed, as were tunics, hoods, helmets, soldiers, and any distinction that might attract attention. The old <\/span>\u2018paso a corre\u00f3n\u2019<\/b> \u2014images carried by means of a strap across the chest\u2014 was formally prohibited in 1838.<\/span><\/p>\n After the first third of the 19th century, the confraternity world of Lucena underwent a prolonged decline<\/strong> that would lead several of the town\u2019s major brotherhoods, and most of the smaller ones, into a lengthy period of decay or even extinction. <\/span>In the case of Lucena, the brotherhoods that carried out their penitential processions during Holy Week, such as those of Pasi\u00f3n (Passion), the Santa Vera Cruz (Holy Vera Cruz), and Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude),<\/strong> were particularly affected, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of confraternity members, as well as a reduction in the alms and donations upon which the brotherhoods had previously relied. Finally, the spread of secularism also contributed to the weakening of the brotherhoods. The Brotherhood of Jes\u00fas Nazareno (Jesus the Nazarene) was able to withstand all these crises, sustained both by the great popular devotion to the image of Nuestro Padre (Our Father) and by the strength of the brotherhood itself, in which membership of the governing board was regarded as a sign of social prestige.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”25px|auto||auto|false|false” custom_padding=”50px||0px||false|false” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”Poppins|600|||||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n In the late 19th and early twentieth centuries, in a context of growing anticlaricalism, the <\/span>\u2018santer\u00eda\u2019<\/b><\/a> became stablished as the distinctive way of carrying the processional thrones: on the shoulders, with faces uncovered, under the orders of the \u2018manijero\u2019, and to the sound of the drum and the \u2018torralbo\u2019. The term \u2018santero\u2019 first appeared in the press in 1907 <\/strong>and today stands as unique model of processional carrying in the world,<\/strong> declared Bien de Inter\u00e9s Cultural (Asset of Cultural Interest) in 2025. As the heir of the \u2018correonistas\u2019, the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 gives the processions a distinctive aesthetic: styles such as the <\/span>\u2018botao\u2019<\/span><\/i>, the <\/span>\u2018maseteao\u2019<\/span><\/i> and the <\/span>\u2018coleao\u2019<\/span><\/i> define the movement and rhythm of the throne, adapted to the character of the image and guided by the beat of the drum. <\/span>Perhaps the phenomenon of the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019, which took shape in the closing years of the 19th century and became firmly established among the people, served as a stimulus to the public religious manifestations of Lucena in the face of the misunderstanding and even hostility that they experienced in other Spanish localities.<\/p>\n During the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the post-war period, <\/span>a confraternal revival<\/b> took place with the foundation of new brotherhoods such as those of Jes\u00fas de la Columna (Jesus at the Column), el Cristo de la Sangre (Christ of the Blood), and the Pollina. These newly founded brotherhoods made a notable appearance in the processions of Palm Sunday afternoon and on the nights of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in Lucena. They were a further expression of the conservative Catholic outlook of the dictatorship and o religiosity, with the active participation of ordinary people through the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Without suffering any losses to its religious artistic heritage during the Civil War, the confraternity world of Lucena entered a prolonged crisis from the mid-twentieth century onwards, which lasted for almost two decades. <\/span>In 1944, the <\/span>Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas (Association of Brotherhoods) <\/b><\/a>was founded and, by 1967, only ten thrones made their penitential procession, eight of them carried according to the \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 tradition, with the presence of the old titular images in the streets of Lucena prevailing over brotherhoods that were inactive or even non-existent. <\/span>From the 1970s onwards, with the restoration of democracy, Holy Week in Lucena experienced a remarkable expansion: an increase in the number of brotherhoods, the restoration of sacred images, the enrichment of its heritage, and greater social involvement. Today, there are 17 Passion brotherhoods<\/a>in Lucena, which preserve and carry in procession, during Holy Week, more than fifty sculptures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and secondary figures.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/semanasantalucena.com\/en\/santeria\/” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Discover More About the \u2018Santer\u00eda!” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”17px” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#4a3552″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”10px” button_font=”Poppins||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”53px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Retrieved from: Notas para la historia de las cofrad\u00edas lucentinas. Book by Francisco L\u00f3pez Salamanca, Lucena\u2019s oficial chronicler (2022) <\/span><\/p>\n Photographs: Jes\u00fas Ca\u00f1ete Fern\u00e1ndez. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Holy WeekHistorySix Centuries of Faith and Tradition: Holy Week in LucenaHoly Week in Lucena is one of the most distinctive expressions of Andalusian popular religiosity, with origins dating back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5458","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nOrigins and Historical Context<\/span><\/h3>\n
17th and 18th Centuries: Splendour and Control<\/span><\/h3>\n
19th Century: Crisis, Disentailments, and Resistance<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Santer\u00eda\u2019 and Revival in the 20th Century<\/h3>\n