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[CATHOLIC CAUCUS]Processions in Spain for the Assumption and the Mystery of Elche (graphics heavy)
New Liturgical Movement ^ | 8/17/2010 | Gregor Kollmorgen

Posted on 08/17/2010 4:00:21 AM PDT by markomalley

Having just celebrated the great Feast of the Assumption on Sunday, let us have a look at some traditions connected with this feast in Spain, where processions abound on this occasion.

The processional images will sometimes be of Our Lady being assumed into heaven, as most of you would probably expect. Here is an example from the village of Cantillana (province of Seville):



Sometimes, it will simply be the principal Marian images of the place, as happens in Seville, where it was the Patroness herself, Our Lady of the Kings (Virgen de los Reyes):




However, it is very common that the image will not show the actual Assumption, but the Dormition of Our Lady (Virgen or Asunta Dormida). The perhaps most famous example, at which I had the good fortune to be present once, is the procession of Our Lady of the Assumption (also simply called Virgen de Agosto) in Valencia, where the cathedral is dedicated to her:




Here are two other examples of this type of image. The Virgen Dormida from the cathedral if Gerona:



And Our Lady of the Passover (Nuestra Señora del Transito) from the Dominican church of Granada:



A very special tradition, which combines the various images, takes place in Elche (province of Alicante), the "Mystery of Elche" (Misterio de Elche), where the Assumption is represented in a mystery play which was specifically approved by Pope Urban VIII in 1632 and has since been declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

It begins on the evening of 14 August. After First Vespers is sung in the Basilica of Elche, the Virgin expresses her wish to be reunited with her Son to the Marys:


The heavens open, and an apparatus (the so-called pomegranate) appears, on which an angel descends announcing to the Virgin her imminent death and handing her a palm:






Then a second apparatus descends (the so-called araceli) with four singing angels and a bearer angel, who takes up to heaven the soul of Our Lady, signifying the separation of soul and body and thus the true death of the Virgin. The soul is represented by a miniature image of the large processional image of the Virgen Dormida we are about to see next:


This ends the first part of the play.

On the morning of 15 August, there is the great procession with the image of the Virgen Dormida:



After Second Vespers, the second part of the play begins. The Apostles - in the first place St. John, to whom the palm was given which the Virgin received from the angel - venerate the body of the Virgin:



Then the funeral cortege takes place:



At the moment of burial, the heavens open again, and the araceli descends with the soul of Our Lady, which is reunited to the body, and then she is assumed body and soul into heavenly glory:


Half way up, the Most Holy Trinity comes to her encounter and crowns her, under the booming sound of the organ, the enthusiastic applause of the faithful, the ringing of the bells and the firing of salvos:




You can see some video footage here:

(link to Youtube video)


TOPICS: Catholic
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1 posted on 08/17/2010 4:00:22 AM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

Great photos! The Misterio de Elche is not performed by professionals, but by the townspeople. It has been performed by the people in that town for hundreds of years. The female parts are sung by boys, and it’s a matter of great pride for a man to have been one of the singers as a child or later to sing one of the adult parts. It’s beautiful and very, very dramatic.

I’ve never been there for the actual play, but there’s a museum in Elche where you can see it on video.


2 posted on 08/17/2010 4:14:06 AM PDT by livius
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To: markomalley
Thank you for sharing this with us.

The video has some shots of the upstairs interior where the men crank the displays up and down. The tension is quite visible ~ that loft is hundreds of years old.

For those not familiar with Spanish, it's fairly simple and uses many words with cognate forms in English so just listen through a couple of times and you'll get the essence of the storyline.

Very worthwhile.

3 posted on 08/17/2010 4:39:45 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: markomalley

My first and only visit to Spain was a couple years ago. Lovely place (Seville).

The ham was outdamnstanding, there were no pickup trucks to be seen, and one saw very few young children.


4 posted on 08/17/2010 4:48:11 AM PDT by 2nd Bn, 11th Mar (All sweat, no equity)
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To: markomalley

Wow! So beautiful (ty).


5 posted on 08/17/2010 5:37:06 AM PDT by mlizzy (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ...)
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To: 2nd Bn, 11th Mar

The Spanish have a very low birthrate.


6 posted on 08/17/2010 8:42:47 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Large realities dwarf and overshadow the tiny human figures reacting to them.")
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