Processional transfer of Our Lady of Grace and Hope

Night of the fourth Saturday of Lent

The first transfer of the Cieza Holy Week processions takes place every year on the night of the fourth Saturday of Lent, at the gates of the Convent of "The Claras". At the end of the ceremony in which the venerated image leaves the altar where it is worshipped and is enthroned, Our Lady of Grace and Hope emerges onto "Mesones" Street, adorned in the Hebrew style, to make her way to the headquarters of her confraternity in the heart of the town's old quarter. The platform used by the Confraternity of the Children of Mary for this procession is carried exclusively by women, a unique occurrence within the program of events and processions of Cieza's Holy Week.

Departure time: 9:30 pm (Monastery of the Immaculate Conception).

Arrival time: approximately 11:00 pm (House-Museum of the Royal Confraternity of Our Lady of Grace and Hope).

Route: "Mesones", "Plaza Nueva", Alley of the "Plaza Nueva", "Angostos", "Tercia", "Santo Cristo", "Cánovas del Castillo", "Barco" and "Diego Tortosa".

Order of procession: Royal Confraternity of Our Lady of Grace and Hope, Our Lady of Grace and Hope and marching band.

Unique features and suggestions: The fact that this is the first procession of Lent, combined with the regal presence of Our Lady of Grace and Hope, a figure of great popular devotion, contributes to the massive crowds lining "Mesones" Street, awaiting the start of the procession. This scene, with its distinctly processional feel, is further enhanced by the Monument to Holy Week in Cieza, which itself seems to be waiting to see the Virgin emerge. It is certainly noteworthy that only women carry the image's platform, displaying the skill and unmistakable character of Cieza's traditional slow, deliberate pace. The procession in "Plaza Nueva", popularly known as 'Square of the Carts', is well worth seeing. This beautiful and secluded square is only visited by Holy Week processions on this particular night, making the Virgin's passage through this intimate space a truly unique and authentically local sight. But the truly procession-loving spectators will surely be back on the 'race' more often, enjoying that first night in Cieza when the processional marches once again fill the streets.

Photograph by Enrique Centeno.
© Board of Passionate Brotherhoods of Cieza

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