Spiritual and Christian fervor as Easter approaches

Holy Week

A land of belief and spirituality, Bonifacio welcomes crowds of believers and curious onlookers every Easter to attend the Holy Week processions. This week, an essential part of Christianity, commemorates the Passion of Christ. A visceral forge of identity, Catholicism has punctuated Bonifacian life for centuries with masses, rites and ceremonies. At the turn of an alley, on a rocky promontory, or lost in the scrubland, churches, chapels, convents and oratories form a heritage through which spiritual fervor can be expressed with devotion. These age-old traditions live on through oral memory and within the walls of these places of worship, which are scattered throughout the region. This piety is found in every district of the city, which has its own holy place and patron saint to celebrate during a religious celebration. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are the high points of the year, when the city’s five brotherhoods perpetuate this passion, guided by the psalmody of their confreres.

Procession Vendredi Matin Semaine Sainte Bonifacio

Attend the Holy Week processions

in the City of Cliffs

Expressing a faith heir to nine centuries of tradition, the inhabitants of the Cité des falaises attend the many Holy Week processions in a singular atmosphere. For two days, until the Easter vigil, the processions of brotherhoods begin their Way of the Cross with passion and fervor, to the accompaniment of hymns. The brotherhoods parade with their respective “châsses” (reliquary containing the body of a saint), which are only worn at night to honor their saints. The “petites châsses” are unfurled on Maundy Thursday, when the “grandes châsses” are brought out on Good Friday. Circular processions” are also held. These take place on Friday mornings, starting at 8 a.m., and are attended by all confraternities. Each brotherhood is made up of the “dressed” confreres following the cross-bearer, and the faithful behind the confreres. Like Christ during his ascent to Calvary, the cross-bearer is barefoot and hooded. The five brotherhoods respectively visit the repositories (prepared in the preceding days) of the following churches: St. Dominic’s, St. Francis’, St. John the Baptist’s, St. Mary Major’s and St. Erasmus’.

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The brotherhoods

a local tradition

“A religious association formed by lay people devoted to pious practices or charitable works, often under the direction of the clergy or with their spiritual assistance. This is the definition of a confraternity, of which there are five in Bonifacio. First established in the 13th century, each brotherhood represented a specific trade or guild. The Confrérie de la Sainte-Croix, for example, represented the city’s health professions and higher social classes. Today, brotherhoods are based on solidarity, and confrères are more likely to join out of sympathy for a particular brotherhood than out of social class. You also become a brother of one of the brotherhoods by virtue of your family name, an inheritance bequeathed by your forebears who belonged to a specific brotherhood. To ensure the success of all the Good Thursday and Good Friday ceremonies, the confrères set about preparing their brotherhoods a month before the festivities. They will, for example, make the “cartatorci”, small paper torches decorated in the colors of the different brotherhoods, with a candle in the center. They also have to check the condition of the alb, clean the shawls and crucifixes, and remember to order the palm branches that will be blessed on the Sunday before Easter.

The Brotherhood of Holy Cross

White alb, black camail with red double-crossed cross: this ancient brotherhood cared for the sick. It is the only brotherhood not to honor a patron saint, as it venerates the Cross of Christ’s Martyrdom, the symbol of all the saints and martyrs of the Christian religion. An offshoot of the Confrérie du Saint-Esprit, it holds a fragment of the True Cross, preserved in a reliquary that can be seen at certain ceremonies.

The Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist

Black alb, black camail: this brotherhood brought together carpenters and other craftsmen. Also known as the Brotherhood of Mercy, its mission was to help those most in need, providing material assistance to the most destitute and guaranteeing everyone a dignified funeral. As a sign of deepest humility, the brotherhood chose all-black for its alb and camail.

The Saint-Barthélemy brotherhood

White alb, red camail: the Saint-Barthélemy brotherhood brought together masons, stonemasons and other builders. The church of Saint-Dominique houses the Baroque shrine of “San Bartolu”, which bears witness to the painful episode of Saint Bartholomew’s flaying. This sculpted group, composed of several figures and animals, weighs around 800 kilos and requires three or four teams of six porters.

Did you know?

The Dark Offices, held in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, are sacramentless celebrations punctuated by some particularly powerful moments, including the “matzuchi” tradition. In a deafening tumult, confreres strike the ground with palm branches to evoke the sound of thunder. This symbolizes the earthquakes that are said to have accompanied Christ’s death.

Confrerie Sainte Marie Madeleine Bonifacio

The Brotherhood of Saint Mary Magdalene

Green alb, blue camail: this brotherhood brought together farmers, winegrowers and other people of the land. Its shrine, known as the “Saintes-Femmes”, depicts the Adoration of the three mourners on Calvary. To be precise, several Mary Magdalene saints are listed, but in this case, it’s Mary of Magdala (1st century), a disciple of Jesus.