March 24 to 31 Semana Santa 2024 in Aguilas
The major Semana Santa processions in Aguilas take place between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday
The Semana Santa week processions and events in Águilas take place during the whole of Easter Week, concluding on Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday.
The processions and acts of penitence are religious events but the sheer beauty of the rows of penitents, flowers and sculptures which parade during this important week are also popular with those of all religious denominations, bringing colour and spectacle to the streets of the town.
There are nine “Cofradías” (brotherhoods) and two “Agrupaciones” (bands), which have a collection of 19 different “Pasos” (sculpted figures and tableaux) between them, and more than 1,500 members, most of whom parade during the different events which comprise the Semana Santa in Águilas.
There are two main churches around which these processions focus: the parish church of San José, Calle de Floridablanca on the corner of Plaza de España, and the Parroquia del Carmen, Calle Doctor Luis Prieto, 10, (click for map).
The 2024 Semana Santa programme in Águilas is as follows:
Thursday March 21
21.00: A gastro zone opens in Calle Balart through the participation of Restaurante La Tercena.
23.00: Live music from Nagha.
Friday March 22 Viernes de Solores (Friday of Sorrows)
The Virgen de los Dolores is the patron of Águilas and there are various events to commemorate her feast day.
11.00: Holy Mass with music by the choir of the Patronato Musical Aguileño in the church of San José.
This is followed by a floral offering in the Plaza de España.
12.30: The gastro zone in Calle Balart opens to the public again.
17.00: Live music from Los Ratones.
19.50: Mass in the church of San José.
21.00: A procession through the streets of the town centre.
Sunday March 24 (Palm Sunday, Domingo de Ramos)
10.30: The procession of palms, in which families carry palm and olive branches, as well as the braided white palm decorations typical of Holy Week. The palms are first blessed before participants commemorate the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem on a donkey. The procession is from the Parroquia del Carmen to the Parroquía of San José and includes the figures of Christ on a donkey and the Virgen de la Estrella.
The religious figures paraded depict the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the Virgen de la Estrella, carried on the shoulders of the Hebrew people.
Route: Parish church of the Iglesia del Carmen, church of San José (where Mass is held), Calle Luis Prieto, Calle Juan Carlos I, Calle Rey Carlos III, Plaza de España.
Wednesday March 27 (Holy Wednesday)
The Procesión del Prendimiento (the procession of the Taking of Christ), the Oración en el Huerto (the oration in the Garden of Gethsemene) and Santiago Apóstol.
19.30: The Oración en el Huerto procession leaves the church of San José and follows Castelar, Juan Jiménez Crouseilles, Calle Floridablanca, Calle Antonio Manzanera and Calle Luis Prieto.
20.00: The figure of Santiago Apóstol sets out on a route which includes Calle Robles, Calle Progreso, Calle Madre de Dios, Calle Ancha, Calle Castellanos and Calle Luis Prieto, joining the first group along the way.
20.30: The different Pasos join the Agrupación Nuestro Padre Jesús del Prendimiento la Oración and leave from the parish church of Iglesia Carmen on a route which includes Luis Prieto, Juan Carlos I, Conde de Aranda, the Plaza de España (Parroquia de San José) and Coronel Pareja before ending in the fishing port at the Lonja de los Pescadores (Explanada de Puerto) and the headquarters of the brotherhoods.
Thursday March 28, Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday)
00.00 midnight: Procession of silence, with the figure of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Agonía, leaving from the Casa de Hermandad in Calle Lotería and proceeding along Candelaria and Juan Carlos I to Luis Prieto.
At this point there is an “encuentro” (a meeting) between the figures of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Agonía, María Santísima de la Soledad and San Juan Evangelista in the Plaza del Caño de los Arcos.
The procession then continues on Calle Antonio Manzanera, Calle Floridablanca, Calle Juan Jiménez Crouseilles, Calle Castelar and the Plaza de España, ending at the church of San José.
Friday March 29, Viernes Santo (Good Friday)
7.00: The figure of Jesús Nazareno is carried on a Vía Crucis, visiting the stations of the cross after leaving the headquarters of the brotherhood in Caño de Arcos and setting up to climb Calvary.
Route: Fuente Nueva, Luis Prieto, Juan Carlos I, Sepulcro, Goya, Hospital, Pilar, Monte Calvario.
9.30: The morning procession of the Holy Encounter (Procesión del Santo Encuentro). The figures of the Cristo del Prendimiento, Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Columna and Nuestra Señora la Virgen de los Dolores set out from the Parroquia de San José in the Plaza de España and are carried along Castelar, Juan Jiménez Crouseilles, Floridablanca, Antonio Manzanera and Luis Prieto. The figures of the Virgen de los Dolores, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno and San Juan Evangelista (St John the Baptist) meet at 10.40 at the corner of Juan Carlos I and Luis Prieto.
11.15: The first Procession of the Holy Burial (Procesión del Santo Entierro) begins, featuring the figures of the Cristo del Prendimiento, Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Columna, Nuestra Señora la Virgen de los Dolores, Jesús Nazareno, Santa Mujer Verónica, and the Cristo del Consuelo. Route: Calle Juan Carlos I, Puerto de Poniente, Calle Francisco Rabal, Calle Isabel la Católica , Plaza de España, ending at the parish church of San José.
20.15: The evening procession, the Procesión del Santo Entierro (the Holy Burial). The procession leaves the Parroquia de San José in the Plaza de España and proceeds along Castelar, Juan Jiménez Crouseilles, Floridablanca, Antonio Manzanera, Luis Prieto, Juan Carlos I, Rey Carlos III before returning to the Plaza de España.
Initially the figures featured are those of the Cristo de la Sangre, the Holy Sepulchre and the Virgen de los Dolores, and they are then joined in the Plaza del Caño de Arcos by María Santísima de la Soledad, the Virgen de la Piedad and the Cristo de la Misericordia, as well as St John the Baptist and Santa Mujer Verónica.
Sunday March 31 (Easter Sunday)
11.00: The Procesión del Santísimo Cristo Resucitado. The mood changes from one of mourning to one of celebration as Christ is resurrected. The procession is bright and cheerful with a joyous meeting between the figures of Jesus resurrected and the Virgen de la Esperanza.
When visiting Águilas your first port of call should be the local tourist office (click here for map, telephone 968 493285, email turismo@aguilas.es).
For more local events, news and visiting information go to the home page of Águilas Today.
The route begins at the Parish church of Iglesia del Carmen, following Luis Prieto, Antonio Manzanera, Floridablanca, Juan Jiménez Crouseilles, Castelar, the Plaza de España, Conde de Aranda and Juan Carlos I, returning to the starting point, where the meeting takes place with the figure of the Virgen de la Esperanza.
