"ES PASSOS" IN SANT VICENT DE SA CALA

HOLY WEEK IN SAN VICENTE (SA CALA)

Although most of the parish churches celebrate it on Good Thursday, few of them do the Vía Crucis on previous Palm Sunday, as here in Sant Vicent de Sa Cala. This rural Vía Crucis is called by the locals "es passos". there are fourteen stations where they stop at each marked cross, and then the Priest reads about that station of the Christ passion and then men sing a very old traditional song for each station, and so do women as well, after them.

There is something that can amaze the visitors, sometimes this church during the Holy Week is surrounded by many multicolours bands due the near feast celebration of San Vicente Ferrer the saint Patron of the little village and so, sometimes they celebrate the Passion surrounded by many small flags hanging from the church.

The outdoors crosses are the sign of where to stop the porcession of this Vía Crucis and celebrate each station. the "passos" of Sa Cala and San Miguel are the most ancients of the whole island and are really interesting. In all this kind of processions men are supporting the Christ image...

...meanwhile women are surrounding the Virgin Mary of the Sorrows that follows his son, during the procession as we can see at the above footage.

So, during some moments these two images go around the little village, and are surrounded by beautiful and natural landscape.

It can happen that the 5th of april (as this year) can be as well the Good Thursday or Good Friday or another day of the Holy Week, when the catholic church celebrates the mourning of Christ. So, the festivity of the Saint Vincent will be celebrating on the next sunday which is the Resurrection day.

The image of Our Lady of Sorrows, in this parish is not dressed in black, but grabs in his hands the nails that held up his son on the cross, visible is her heart with seven daggers (pains). Thanks to younger people, these old traditions are remaining alive and seems that will go on, as the roots of their ancestors.