Andrew, the famous Singaporean blogger has some pictures of, and comment on the Black Nazarene procession in the Manilla.
I remember going to a procession in Malta with a priest friend, it wasn't quite on this scale, but the whole town was out on the street, there were brass bands, fireworks, the statue was carried through the streets and from time to time it was bounced on the shoulders of the 
confraternity members who carried it. It was fun, it was pious. It was incredibly human. It must have been 20 years ago but I remember my friend saying, "You can see why the Maltese lapse when they come to the UK". From Andrew's pictures the majority of participants seem to be men, I think this was the case in Malta too.
confraternity members who carried it. It was fun, it was pious. It was incredibly human. It must have been 20 years ago but I remember my friend saying, "You can see why the Maltese lapse when they come to the UK". From Andrew's pictures the majority of participants seem to be men, I think this was the case in Malta too.I am still thinking about "boredom" and religion, well the Black Nazarene procession, and the Maltese procession weren't boring.
8 comments:
I recomment Avila, Spain, during Holy Week for numerous, awesome processions. Some include several brass bands playing strangely appropriate music (though unlike anything else); some start at midnight, or 3am, but most are during the day; some are very penitential, others (e.g. at the beginning) celebratory.
I was there in Easter 2006 and longed for such processions to return to England...it's been 500 years already!
That was certainly some procession!
I was lucky enough last year to be able to take part in three processions each of a somewhat more modest size than the one in Manilla.
The first was across Paris ending up at the magnificent Notre-Dame des Victoires. The statue of our Lady of Fatima was carried and a tall strong chap had loudspeakers strapped to his back to help us all sing together! It was a warm summer evening and I was impressed that the police held up the traffic for us to pass.
Later last year I was able to join the Rosary Procession in London which walks from westminster Cathedral to the Brompton Oratory which I believe is also dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. Once again the roads were cleared for us as we were proudly able to demonstrate our faith in public.
Nearer to home the Corpus Christi procession in Arundel was another moving occasion for me and many others ending in the grounds of Arundel Cathedral. I was pleased that it was still on the Thursday even though the feast had been moved to the Sunday as public transport on a sunday would have made it impossible to take part.
Yes we need these demonstrations of our faith not only for ourselves but to give witness to others. How about one in Brighton Father Ray?!
Wonder why the women don't attend. Fear of being gropped in a large crowd?
These processions etc. are wonderful, but rare in these parts. I have to admit though, when I see one, I think of the procession scene in Godfather II.
As James M says there are huge processions in Spain as well as Malta. Unfortunately many of the people who take part in the processions do not attend Sunday Mass very often.
I suspect that the reason why some people from Malta lapse when they come to the UK is more to do with social pressure. People are expected to go to Mass in Malta (and there are a huge number of churches in an island the size of the Isle of Wight).
In the UK, people are not expected to go to Church - quite the opposite. There is an anti religious atmosphere in so many areas of our society. The attacks on religion in general and Catholicism in particular are becoming more and more shrill.
We also have processions in Penang. But unfortunately, because we're in a Muslim country, the Church doesn't bother to ask for a permit for a public procession because they expect it to be rejected. Past experience, I guess and we only have processions within the Church grounds.
Haven't been out in recent memory, although I've been told of the huge processions in the street led by the Bishop in ages past.
But last Dec 8, we managed to convince the priest to try and a couple of us got all the paperwork done and managed to get a permit. We even commissioned a new Gothic inspired, spired processional canopy for Our Lady. Many commented later that it was a great procession because it was prayerful as the Holy Rosary was recited along the way, interspersed with Marian hymns and the Litany of Loreto. So, it wasn't just taking Mary out for a walk. Like Pelerin said, we too used a speaker, but on a cart. We also had to push the generator around to power the system. No strong strapping chaps here. But it really did make a huge difference in terms of the atmosphere and prayerfulness of the whole event. The report can be found here.
Alonger route is being attempted this Corpus Christi... wish us luck!
This is in answer to gemoftheocean's question. It is not fear of being groped that keeps women from joining; the Jesus Nazareno procession is traditionally a male procession. No one knows how it evolved that way. And the men are very possessive about their procession; I have seen one Caucasian woman photographer who tried to get inside the procession gently but firmly ejected out of the crowd onto the sidewalk, which is the place for the women. When the procession starts, however, even the women vacate the sidewalks for safety reasons. The still photos don't quite capture the emotion surrounding the event, which is just amazing. I once watched from the fourth floor of a building just opposite the Quiapo church as the door opened and the image emerged. The tremendous mass of humanity just surged forward, like a huge wave, and even through the sealed glass windows we could hear the cries of "Viva el Senor" - it brought tears to my eyes.
To Andrew - good luck to your Corpus Christi procession! We are so fortunate here in the Philippines to be able to worship in peace and freedom.
Tillic, thank you for the explanation. Are there any processions the ladies can take part in? Or are they forever permanently assigned to the balconies?
"Are there any processions the ladies can take part in?"
The Black Nazarene procession was traditionally a male devotion, true, but we also have processions here where only women can take part. Traditionally, the procession of St. John the Baptist (called 'tatarin' in Spanish times) was exclusively for women, and any men who were found among the crowd were booted out, sometimes even violently.
There is also a church here (forgot which one, I'm pretty sure it's a cathedral, though) where only female saints are venerated. Like the aforementioned Tatarin procession, only women are allowed to carry the images and join in the actual event :) .
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