Holy week in Cangas

Holy week in Cangas, Declared of Galician Tourist Interest, is known due to its solemnity in all the Peninsula of Morrazo, being the most important in the province.

The spectacular nature of its processions, the religious recollection of the faithful and the artistic images turn it into a display of the way of living of a fishing village that throughout history has enriched the way they feel their religious devotion, with feeling and good taste. The originality of articulated images in the processions of the “Encuentro” and the “Descendimiento” (described further), is a good proof of how the people of Cangas want to live the Passion in a most real way.

Holy week in Cangas starts on Passion Friday, celebrating the procession of the Virgen de los Dolores (the Virgin), very deep-rooted in the village, to such an extent to have been declared as local holiday to all intents and purposes.Liturgical acts finish, that day, with a great procession with the Virgin carried on an artistic “throne” (portable platform) with pallium.

On Palm Sunday, we celebrate palm blessing and the procession to the church, carrying the image of Jesus riding a donkey.

Holy Thursday in the afternoon, the procession carries out the float representing “La última cena” with natural products.

Also the “paso” of “La oración en el Huerto” and “La flagelación”, beautiful whole of three images, and finishing the procession the portable platform with pallium carrying the Virgen de los Dolores (the Virgin).
 

Good Friday in the morning, we celebrate in the centre of the village the procession of “Santo Encuentro”. The priest relates the biblical passage, while from the streets leading into the square images appear: San Juan, Veronica, María Magdalena, María Cleofás, María Salomé and Virgen de los Dolores (the Virgin). The Nazarene, accompanied by the Cirineo and Roman executioners, falls three times (the image falls and gets up by means of an articulation system). Veronica spreads out the shroud and the face of Jesus appears in it. San Juan stretches out his finger and shows the way to the Virgin.

In the afternoon, at the church, it takes place the ceremony of “Descendimiento”, when Christ is “unnailed” and placed into a glass case. This beautiful image has articulated arms and the act becomes a moving scene of great realism.

In the evening, we celebrate the procession of “Santo Entierro”. The images of San Juan, the Piadosas Mujeres, the “paso” of Jesus Crucificado, the paso of Piedad, the glass case of Cristo Yacente and the beautiful “throne” of Virgen de la Soledad finish this procession.

Finally, to finish the Holy Week, we celebrate the Procesión del Silencio (procession of silence) at 12.00 o’clock on Good Friday night, when “Cristo del Consuelo” is accompanied by the people in dead silence along our streets.

Brotherhoods

:: Hermandad (Brotherhood) de la Virgen de los Dolores y de la Soloedad

The venerable “Hermandad de la Virgen de los Dolores”, a brotherhood, was founded in 1748, at the request the prior of the collegiate church of Cangas, Ramón Tabarés Saavedra, who commends to the Reverenced Father Juan de Cenzano, from the Society of Jesus of the Schools of Pontevedra, its setting up.

This brotherhood, also called “de la Buena Muerte”, absorbs the existing Soledad one, with all its wealth and possessions, and have the plenary indulgence given by the popes Clemente XI, Inocencio XI, and Benedicto XIII.

Nowadays, the Hermandad de la Virgen de los Dolores y de la Soledad overcomes two thousand members and its feast day, Passion Friday, is one of the most important liturgical events in the parish.Its main image, the Virgen de los Dolores (the Virgin) is a beautiful image to dress dated from 1805. With the disentailment (sale of church land) promoted by Alvarez Mendizabal, this brotherhood’s incomes were allocated to support the only children school in the village and the image was accommodated at the Town Hall until 1919, when it passed to be accommodated at a particular house, from where the image is carried in pious procession to the church to celebrate a solemn septenario (septenary) in its honour.

Virgen de la Soledad (the Virgin) is also property of this brotherhood, a very beautiful image that dates from XVIIth century and the beautiful Cristo de Minerva, beautiful carving made of boxwood whose author is unknown, and also the old Cristo del Descencimiento, accommodated at the sacristy of the former collegiate church.

:: Asociación del Santísimo Cristo del Consuelo(Brotherhood)

Turkish and Algerian pirates invasion, on 9th December 1617, when the parish church was devastated and burnt down with all the files and images, except for the Cristo “que non quixo arder” (that didn’t want to burn) left us without data enough about the age of this brotherhood, that is thought to be older than its foundation. We have some reference from 1607 when it is called “Cofradía de la Fábrica del Santo Nombre de Jesús”, because the “Fábrica de la Iglesia”, some kind of archive, had hardly incomes and this brotherhood gave the church all it needed.

On 27th April 1865, after an inactivity and silence of hundred and fifty years, it is formally founded the Cofradía del Buen Jesús o Cristo del Consuelo, that lasts until 1950s when, due to disagreements between the committee and the parish priest, the brotherhood is dissolved. In 1990, the foundation of the current brotherhood is promoted again..

Its main image is the Cristo del Consuelo, patron saint of the village of Cangas. It is a carving representing a crucified Jesus, a great work that the sculptor from Sta Cristina de Cobres, Juan Pintos, made in 1789.

The cult in honour of Cristo del Consuelo was celebrated in the past on Shrovetide (Carnavales) but after the refoundation of the brotherhood in 1865, the celebration was moved to the last Sunday of August, when we celebrate a mass of exaltation of the cross, carrying the image of Cristo del Consuelo, in solemn procession showing a hand-embroidered valuable pallium with gold a precious stones.

On Holy Week, the impressive image of Cristo del Consuelo goes out too on Good Friday night, but this time without pallium, highlighting the shape of crucified Christ, in a procession that inspires a great recollection and admiration.

:: Confraría de la Misericordi (Brotherhood)

This brotherhood was founded by the “gremio de mareantes” (seafarers’ corporation) in 1709. The aim was to deal with the spiritual needs of seafarers. The main image of this old brotherhood is San José. Due to the natural deep-seatedness of this brotherhood in a fishing village as Cangas, its economic and social power in the past, thanks to its share of fishery incomes of each boat of the village, the religious life of the village has an important promoter.

At the end of the XIXth century the Cofradia de la Misericordia commisiones master Cerviño, sculptor of the famous “cruceiro” of Hio, the important work of renovating, together with a group of voluntary carpenters, the images that until that moment were carried on procession during the Holy Week.
It would be very large to tell how many stories happened in that improvised workshop for the only purpose: the articulated images of the Holy Week of Cangas.

Among the images –“La mesa de los apóstoles”, the “paso” de “Las Caídas” or the Nazarene, with the Cirineo and the Roman executioner, “paso” articulated (Jesus falls and gets up three times and the eyes of the Roman executioner move), “Las Marías”, “San Juan”, “La Verónica” and “La Magdalena, we can highlight his main work: “Cristo del Descendimiento”, articulated too and a real anatomical study of human body.
All these wonderful images, offspring of the genius of a self-taught and the feeling of a people, make the “Cofradia de la Misericordia” be the one that has most contributed throughout years to the significance of our Holy Week.

:: Agrupación de San Pedro

Fue fundada en el 2003 por entusiastas de la villa de Cangas que quisieron profesionar la figura de San Pedro, imagen titular de la misma. Esta imagen de estilo barroco y una de las más representativas con las que cuenta la ExColegiata de Santiago de Cangas, es acompañada en la madrugada del Jueves al Viernes Santo por las calles de la villa. Grupos de jóvenes, en su mayoría, acompañan con velas y antorchas la imagen del Santo que se desplaza bajo el sonido del retumbar de los tambores. Se trata del prólogo del Viernes Santo que se inicia con la celebración del Santo Encuentro.