A friend of mine kindly sent me some photos of the re-enactment of the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) held in Loreto Aprutino.
I was delighted to get the images as I wasn’t able to stay in Abruzzo this Easter and see the event this year.
If you are in Abruzzo for Easter and you’d like to sample the atmosphere of local events there is still time to catch some on Easter Sunday.
Perhaps the most famous event is in Sulmona (AQ).
At about 11:30 in Piazza Garibaldi, Sulmona there is a reconstruction of the apparition of the Resurrected Christ to the Virgin Mary.
Knocking on the door of the church of St. Filippo, St. John tries to tell her of the resurrection, but she does not believe him. Then St. Peter tries, and again she doesn’t believe.
St. John tries a second time. This time the door opens and the Virgin Mary comes out, slowly at first, disbelievingly. Then on seeing the risen Christ, she believes, her dark mantel falls away revealing a bright green dress and a red rose. Doves are released and she runs to meet the risen Christ.
The ritual has a bearing on future well-being of the community because if the running of the Virgin Mary is unfailing, the year will be good; if the black mantle doesn’t come off cleanly or the running falters, it is a dark omen.
If the doves fly high and free, the crop will be good; if they fly low the crop could fail.
The YouTube clip above gives a flavour of the event.
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