Local

Bishop of Malaga officially suspends all Holy Week processions this year

JESÚS HINOJOSA

On 29 December, the archbishop of Seville suspended the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions due to the coronavirus health crisis. The following day, the Archbishop of Granada did the same, and he was followed by the bishop of Cadiz, on 8 January. ... Elías Bendodo, said that "all the acts that are planned for the next Holy Week must be adapted to the health protocol in force at that time". “It will not be the Holy Week of two years ago but neither was last year when there was nothing.” He said

Local

'Everything seems to indicate' there will be no Easter processions in 2021, says Junta president

EUROPA PRESS

The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, has said that "everything seems to indicate" that there will be no Holy Week processions in Andalucía in 2021, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It would be the second year without the

Opinion

A place at Christmas

IGNACIO LILLO

...about in public very little. Whether it is in groups of six and six, or shifts, or however the Holy Government lets us, everyone deserves to have their place at the Christmas table.

Opinion

Holy chefs

ANDREW J. LINN

Medals are awarded in wartime to the brave and diligent, and when this war is finally over the economic hangover will also need to be mitigated by a lengthy honours list. Ask any American who most deserves a medal for undertaking selfless charity

Local

Istán's 'holy' chestnut tree caught up in family dispute

CHARO MÁRQUEZ

...this offer "everyone wins". The tree is unique, not just because of its age. It measures more than 27 metres across the top and the circumference of the trunk is 21 metres. Known as "holy", visitors have often scattered their loved ones' ashes at ... its base. Others have taken away handfuls of what they consider to be 'holy' earth. As a result, and due to the disagreements with the owners the chestnut is in need of care and protection. The authorities are hopeful that the two sides of the family

Local

Police tighten lockdown controls during Holy Week

Eugenio Cabezas

Town halls along the Axarquía coast have intensified controls on vehicles during Holy Week after a number of residents in towns including Torrox and Nerja reported seeing neighbours in their holiday homes. Anyone caught failing to comply with the

Local

Holy Week processions cancelled throughout the province

Antonio M. Romero / JesÚs Hinojosa

There will be no Holy Week processions in Malaga this year. The organisation that represents the city's religious brotherhoods that organise the Semana Santa has agreed with the city hall and the Diocese of Malaga to call off the events to prevent ... cancellation applies to the entire diocese, that is, all the towns and villages in the province of Malaga. "All three consider it responsible and necesary to suspend the Holy Week processions, as well as all the planned events leading up to them," it reads. ... "We regret the inconvenience caused for the brotherhoods and thank them for their collaboration in these exceptional circumstances." Catalá, Atencia and De la Torre have encouraged people to celebrate Holy Week with private prayer. Around 34,400

Local

Fears for Holy Week processions as major events are postponed

sur

...was likely to be severe as the country braced itself to see if early April’s Holy Week religious processions would be affected. On Tuesday, organisers took the decision to suspend the Malaga Film Festival which was due to start today, Friday 13. The ... touches to their creations. The coronavirus pandemic is already affecting brotherhoods preparing for Holy Week starting on 5 April ahead of Easter. In Andalucía, the regional government has so far said it sees no reason to suspend events, but some

National

Seville's Easter processions in 2021 fall victim to the Covid-19 pandemic

EUROPA PRESS

The Archbishop of Seville, Monsignor Juan José Asenjo, has signed an order to suspend Holy Week processions in the city in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. He has ordered the official suspension of the events and celebrations organised by

Local

Nerja Holy Week brotherhood donates money to help Covid-19 crisis

Eugenio Cabezas

Nerja's Nazareno Holy Week brotherhood (cofradía), which would normally process through the town's streets on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, has donated 3,000 euros to the local branch of the Catholic charity Cáritas, to buy food for vulnerable

Local

Beaches, parks and markets closed on the Costa del Sol

SUR

...region. Semana Santa In Andalucía, where all schools and other education centres are to be closed for at least two weeks, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, announced the cancellation of next month's Holy Week processions in

Local

Rincón school's Holy Week exhibition open to everyone

VICTORIA BUSTAMANTE

For the fifth year running, La Marina school in Torre de Benagalbón will be offering visitors the chance to see its Holy Week exhibition. The collection of images, posters and statues representing 17 of the 'tronos' that take part in Malaga's Holy ... Week processions was started by Sister Mercedes Fernández and has grown over the years with teachers and pupils adding their own contributions. Guided tours are available to anyone who goes along to the school during Holy Week.

Local

Álora parish priest in trouble with Bishop for committing sacrilege by holding mass with an Anglican vicar

JESÚS HINOJOSA

...invited the Reverend Jenny Lancaster, a retired Church of England vicar from Newcastle, to take part in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). The Reverend Lancaster was part of a singing visit by a choral society from northeast England

Local

Vélez mayor says work will not affect Holy Week

Mayor of Vélez-Málaga, Antonio Moreno Ferrer, has given his assurances that the town's Holy Week processions will not be affected by plans to pedestrianise Vélez town centre. Speaking last week, he said that the traditional routes used by the ... different brotherhoods at Easter will not have to be modified and that the seating on Plaza de las Carmelitas, in front on the town hall, will be installed as usual. However, president of the town's association of Holy Week brotherhoods, Francisco Javier

LifeStyle

Holy Week around the region

sur

Holy Week, or Semana Santa, is the week before Easter in the Christian calendar, and is celebrated in a wide variety of ways across Spain. It is particularly popular in Andalucía, where it is observed in different ways across the region. Almeria ... During Holy Week in Almeria thousands of people take part in or watch the processions which the religious brotherhoods hold around the city, and many of those who carry the floats or walk behind them are dressed in Nazarene costume. The processions in ... Friday. Some of the brotherhoods were not created until the 20th century, such as La Macarena, which goes out in procession on Holy Monday. Thursday is an especially popular day, because three of the processions meet in the Plaza Emilio Pérez, and the

LifeStyle

4 December 1985: Santiago de Compostela, World Heritage Site

Debbie Bartlett

...is an Año Xacobeo, a Jacobean or Holy Year, and the streets, squares and cathdral will undoubtedly be full of life again, as those with faith fulfil their dreams of a pilgrimage and obtaining their 'Compostela', and others come to soak up the

LifeStyle

The passion of Holy Week in Andalucía

sur

Nowhere lives Semana Santa, the week leading up to Easter, with as much energy as Andalucía, and visitors can observe the rituals in every corner of the region Huelva In Huelva the Holy Week processions begin on Palm Sunday. It is a very ... have been classified as an event of special interest to tourists in Andalucía. Jaén Holy Week in Jaén is particularly atmospheric, a mixture of history, tradition, art and religious devotion. It combines the sobriety of Castilla and the splendour of ... Holy Week in Malaga is very special and every one of the processions is a delight to experience. Most of the religious brotherhoods also have their own 'Casa Hermandad', museums containing the beautiful floats, the cloaks worn by the Virgins, and other

Local

Road closures for Vélez pedestrianisation works

Eugenio Cabezas

...and parking spaces. The major work is now due to start after Holy Week and should be finished by the end of September.

LifeStyle

28 December 1981: The Day of the Holy Innocents was reinstated

georgie kenny

After being halted for several decades due to the Civil War and the turbulent times that followed, on 28 December 1981 the Day of the Holy Innocents or 'El día de los Santos Inocentes' was celebrated once again in the Alicante town of Ibi. The ... day's origins carry a somewhat dark humour. The Day of the Holy Innocents marks the day when, according to the Bible, King Herod ordered all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem, to be killed. He was afraid that the baby Jesus would become a ... babies murdered by Herod went to heaven as the first Christian martyrs. Much like April Fools, celebrated in the UK and United States, the Day of the Holy Innocents is a day of practical jokes and fun, with the prankster yelling out '¡Inocente,

LifeStyle

16 November 1491: The mystery of the Holy Child of La Guardia

Daryl Finch

They couldn't even agree on a name. He therefore became known as the Holy Child of La Guardia (El Santo Niño de La Guardia). This was perhaps the most significant of the so-called 'blood libels' to have occurred in Spain as 'the Holy Child' was ... quickly made into a folk saint and his death greatly assisted the Spanish Inquisition in its campaign against heresy and crypto-Judaism. Evidence shows that the trial of those condemned for the murder of the Holy Child had further stoked antisemitic ... General Tomás de Torquemada's encouragement, the murder of the Holy Child was used by Isabella I as one of the reasons for the expulsion of the Jews after the fall of Granada in 1492. The decree was signed on 31 March 1492, just months after the outcome of