[Leica] Nathan's PAD 12/4/2018: Santa Faz

[Nathan Wajsman]

“Santa Faz” means “holy face” and is the name of a monastery located on the outskirts of Alicante, in the neighbouring municipality of San Juan. It also refers to a relic kept in that monastery since the 15th century, a piece of the fabric with which Veronica dried the bleeding face of Jesus on the Way of the Cross. Every year, on the second Thursday after Easter Sunday, thousands of the city’s residents make the Peregrina de la Santa Faz pilgrimage, which is Spain’s biggest after the El Rocío pilgrimage in Seville. The Santa Faz relic is kept in a special room behind the main altarpiece and it leaves the monastery once a year, on this occasion. The day is a public holiday in Alicante, and yesterday I walked/cycled the route with the pilgrims to document the proceedings. I took a lot of pictures and will put up a gallery later, but meanwhile here is an appetiser.

The pilgrims making their way out of the city. From here, they have about 5 km to walk:
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-hnfMTPT/A

People have a variety of reasons to participate. For some, it is just a piece of local tradition which is nice to follow; for others, the religious content is the main motive; and for the young people, it is an excuse to go down to the beach afterwards and spend the rest of the day partying there. That is clearly what these girls plan to do:
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-4dJHHXk/A

The goal of the pilgrimage, the square in front of the monastery:
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-6WsgFtK/A

The key moment—the relic is brought outside and placed in a wooden alcove. Afterwards, Mass is celebrated:
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-rRC37k4/A

And a sign of the times. A Christian event with close to 300,000 participants is a tempting target for terrorists, so the security presence was far heavier than in any of the 10 years I have lived here. In previous years, there would be lots of police on hand for crowd control purposes and to help people who got in trouble, either injuries or intoxication usually, but this year in addition, there was Guardia Civil with bulletproof vests and semi-automatic weapons, concrete barriers at strategic points along the route and other precautions. The event passed off without incidents.
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-v5Xh7qw/A

More to come.

Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
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YNWA