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29th September 2025.\u2013 The town of Lucena experienced what is already regarded as a historic day on Saturday, 27th September, with the celebration of the Great Passion Procession \u2018Lucena Lives the Passion\u2019 (Procesi\u00f3n Magna Pasionista, \u2018Lucena vive la Pasi\u00f3n\u2019). Eighteen processional thrones from the town’s seventeen Passion brotherhoods and confraternities made their way through the streets of Lucena in an unprecedented procession, led by the town’s Patron Saint, Mary Most Holy of Araceli, as part of the Jubilee Year.<\/p>\n
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Following the event, the President of the Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas, Antonio D\u00edaz \u2014the organising institution\u2014 and the Mayor of Lucena, Aurelio Fern\u00e1ndez \u2014the sponsoring authority, together with the Provincial Council of C\u00f3rdoba\u2014 have reflected on the assessment of this landmark occasion, highlighting both its organisational success and the remarkable prominence it has brought to Lucena’s Holy Week and its santer\u00eda tradition.<\/p>\n
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The Mayor of Lucena described the Great Passion Procession (Magna) as \u00aban outstanding success\u00bb, insisting that \u00abon Saturday we witnessed eighteen processional thrones in our town, accompanied by music, \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019, devotion… absolutely everything. I believe we presented the image we wanted to project: a well-organised, safe and welcoming Lucena, capable of showing the world what our Holy Week is truly like and what makes our \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 tradition unique. The people of Lucena feel immensely proud because everything ran according to schedule, the regulations were respected, and the event was enjoyed in an atmosphere of solemnity and beauty\u00bb.<\/p>\n
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Confraternity pride and recognition of a collective effort<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For Fern\u00e1ndez, \u00abLucena showed the world how it lives the Passion of the Lord in a truly unforgettable day. It was a beautiful city, filled with visitors, and there was a widespread sense that history had been made. It also demonstrated that we are capable of organising an event of this magnitude\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For his part, Antonio D\u00edaz, President of the Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas of Lucena, shared this assessment, emphasising that \u00abthe overall assessment has been extremely positive; everything went exactly as planned. There were countless details and circumstances to take into account, but thanks to the work of the organising committee, the Officers of the Agrupaci\u00f3n, the Heads of brotherhoods and confraternities and the \u2018manijeros\u2019, Lucena demonstrated the seriousness and dedication with which it organises its Holy Week. The sense of pride is immense\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this regard, he recalled that \u00abit has been two years of intensive work, with countless meetings that became even more frequent in the final months. And the reward was seeing everything unfold exactly as planned Even a minor scheduling issue was resolved almost without anyone noticing\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The President of the Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas also wished to emphasise the religious significance of the occasion, stating that \u00abthis could not be merely a procession. On the Friday, we celebrated the Jubilee Mass, presided over by our Bishop, and on Saturday, before the Great Passion Procession (Magna) began, we listened to the words of our Delegate for Worship, Magdalena Rueda, who reminded us of the true essence of our confraternities and of the presence of Mary Most Holy of Araceli. All of this gave the celebration a deeper meaning, whose character, let us not forget, has always been rooted in its religious purpose\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A town full of visitors<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n With regard to attendance, the Mayor stressed that \u00abthe turnout was exceptional, with a significant proportion of those in attendance having travelled from outside the city. The designated park-and-ride car parks reached full capacity, demonstrating the remarkable number of visitors who came to the city. Although some visitors arrived by coach, most chose to travel by private car, preferring the greater convenience it offered. In the streets, the people of Lucena recognised many unfamiliar faces, while balconies were filled with families opening their homes to share the experience with friends\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fern\u00e1ndez also wished to express his particular gratitude to the city\u2019s hospitality sector and local businesses, who \u00abremoved their outdoor seating and awnings, making an additional effort to ensure that everything ran perfectly. Everyone\u2019s collaboration was essential\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Exemplary safety and coordination<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the most notable aspects of the event was the exemplary level of safety. Fern\u00e1ndez highlighted the success of the operational coordination centre established at the Town Hall itself. The Mayor recalled that \u00abit was the first time we had organised something like this, and it proved to be a success. The immediacy required by some decisions was managed collectively and collaboratively, making the response more effective, and it is an approach we would certainly consider repeating at future events expected to attract large crowds. There were only minor incidents, such as two \u2018santeros\u2019 who required medical attention in Tiendas Street, but the response was immediate. Defibrillators were deployed on police motorcycles to ensure a rapid response, and everything worked exactly as it should. Fortunately, they were nothing more than minor incidents\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Prominent figures impressed by \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The event brought together institutional representatives including the President of the Provincial Council of C\u00f3rdoba, Salvador Fuentes, the President of the Parliament of Andalusia, Jes\u00fas Aguirre, the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of C\u00f3rdoba, Demetrio Fern\u00e1ndez, and the Delegate of the Regional Government of Andalusia in C\u00f3rdoba, Adolfo Molina. Together with mayors and presidents of brotherhoods and confraternities from across the Province of C\u00f3rdoba, as well as other civil, ecclesiastical and military authorities, they had the opportunity to experience the ritual of \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 at first hand. Antonio D\u00edaz noted that \u00abthey left deeply impressed by our santer\u00eda tradition and our artistic heritage\u00bb. In addition, some were able to witness at first hand the moment when a \u2018santero\u2019 is dressed, highlighting \u00abthe people of Lucena\u2019s ability to preserve what makes us unique\u00bb. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lucena enters the annals of confraternity history<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Great Passion Procession (Magna) has projected Lucena onto the national stage, strengthening its bid for its Holy Week celebrations to be granted the status of a Festival of National Tourist Interest. With its \u2018santer\u00eda\u2019 tradition now recognised as an Asset of Cultural Interest (Bien de Inter\u00e9s Cultural, BIC), the city has presented to the world a unique expression of popular religious devotion and living heritage. For the President of the Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas, \u00abLucena has written a page that will never be forgotten. We have shown the world who we are, where we come from, and what makes us unique\u00bb For his part, the Mayor of Lucena concluded by stating that \u00abthis has been far more than a procession: it has been an expression of the soul of our town, of its faith, its organisational capacity and its cultural standing. Lucena lives the Passion, and now the world has experienced it with us as well\u00bb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Acknowledgements<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas of Lucena wishes to express its sincerest gratitude to the Officers of the Agrupaci\u00f3n, the Organising Committee, the Passion and Glory brotherhoods and confraternities of Lucena, former Officers of the Agrupaci\u00f3n de Cofrad\u00edas, the local and Seville-based musical ensembles, the \u2018santero\u2019 teams, the Brotherhood of Drummers of Lucena, those responsible for protocol and communications, the volunteers, the parish branches of Charitas, private security personnel, the Local Police, the National Police, Civil Protection teams from Lucena and neighbouring municipalities, the emergency medical services, the Fire Brigade, the Director of the Emergency and Evacuation Plan, the Operational Services of Lucena Town Council, the people of Lucena and all those who visited the city, the hospitality sector, media organisations from across Spain and, of course, Lucena Town Council and the Provincial Council of C\u00f3rdoba for sponsoring this historic event.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 29th September 2025.\u2013 The town of Lucena experienced what is already regarded as a historic day on Saturday, 27th September, with the celebration of the Great Passion Procession \u2018Lucena Lives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n