Malaga’s Archbishop signals possibility of holding ‘religious’ procession on Costa del Sol once pandemic is over

TODAY, just a week before Easter, Malaga’s Archbishop has signalled that he is studying the possibility of holding a religious procession (or two) once the pandemic is over.

The decision comes after the Vatican announced that Easter processions could potentially be rescheduled for September. In a recent letter addressed to all the Archbishops, the Vatican stated that, although the actual Easter holy days (Good Friday to Easter Sunday) can’t be moved to another date, ‘processions and other devotions of popular piety that usually take place during Holy Week and the Easter Triduum can be transferred by the diocesan bishop to other days during the year, such as September 14 and 15.’

Malaga’s Archbishop today said that he wasn’t going to make a final decision just yet, as he wants to study the possibility of a ‘special’ procession, once the pandemic was over. However, he also reiterated the Vatican’s message that Easter could not be transferred to another date. “Therefore if a procession was held later in the year, it would not be a Semana Santa (Easter-related) procession, but a general/popular ‘religious’ event instead,” he stated.

This year’s Semana Santa processions, due to be celebrated next week, were cancelled shortly before Spain’s lockdown as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, scheduling a Semana Santa-style ‘procession’ later in the year, will certainly provide some much-needed relief for businesses in Malaga, especially those in the hospital and tourism sectors.