Semana Santa

Holy Week (by John)

Semana Santa or Holy Week is a special week here in El Salvador. No surprise, considering the name of the country means, "The Savior" in English. Its Catholic roots are strong and deep, and the Semana Santa typifies that with a week of vacation for many employees, religious processions and other events.

Here I share a several photos from the week.

Below is the proud artist of one of the Estaciones de La Cruz (Stations of the Cross) by which passes the procession organized by the church.

















Below is a photo of young men from the church in the procession carrying a statue of Jesus with the cross. The banner in front reads, "I give you this new commandment, ´that you love one another as I have loved you all´.




















Below, women from the church carry their own float of the Virgen Dolorosa (literal, "painful virgen", but probably better translated "grieving virgen"). This "float" is not part of the procession from the start, but comes to meet the procession at the first station.

















The procession arrives at the first station. Head priest is kneeling to the right. Note that the other priest is kneeling directly on the concrete. This is not unusual to see of parishioners in the church. If there is no room to kneel on the wooden, padless pews, they kneel on the even harder concrete floor.













Moving along further in the week of Semana Santa, we have below a photo of the ataúd (coffin) of Jesus in the Procesión de Santo Entierro (The Holy Burial Procession).












Image of the Virgen Mary during the Santo Entierro procession.
















A nice conversation taking place on a street corner during the same procession.













Moving yet again further in the week, below is a photo of La Vigilia (Midnight Mass). It was held outside this year because of remodeling of the church.


















Parishioners during the Midnight Mass.