Enna | Sunday 14 April 2019
Holy Week Enna
Enna
One of the most suggestive periods to visit Enna is, undoubtedly that of Holy Week and Easter, whose repeated rituals that date back to the Spanish domination (XV-XVII sec.). The rites of Holy Week in Enna open on Palm Sunday and end on Albis Sunday, a week after Easter.
From Palm Sunday until the late morning of Holy Wednesday, the 15 brotherhoods, each the day and time established, leaving in procession from the church membership, go to the Cathedral for the’ solemn adoration of the Eucharist, this rite that the people of Enna call the ura.
Palm Sunday
The rites of Palm Sunday begin with the procession of Jesus and the Apostles and the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. All 10.00 of the morning, as tradition dictates, at the baroque Sanctuary of Papardura, perched on the steep sides of the mountain on which stands the city, the confraternity of the Passion represent the arrival of the Messiah in the Holy City. One of confrati, representative Jesus, mounted on a donkey, preceded by twelve companions, representatives of the apostles, that govern large palm branches. The procession dates back to the road leading into town, and is welcomed at the crossroads of Mount by representatives of the brotherhoods and the band festival, surrounded by a large number of faithful.
The procession stops at the Church of San Sebastiano, before which is placed a portal presided over by two sentries Roman Emperor; Jesus on the donkey, and the twelve apostles, through this portal between the hosannas of the crowd, They start to attend the blessing of the palms and olive trees, then led a grand procession that will travel the entire western part of the upper town, including the winding and picturesque streets of the traditional neighborhoods as well as straights and wide avenues of the modern area. When at last the procession reaches the church of San Leonardo, it is accepted by the faithful and by the sound of the bells, while inside it kicks off the passion of Jesus which is the memorial statue of’ Behold the man.
Good Friday
The culminating moment of the Easter celebrations occurs on Good Friday, When, in the early afternoon, all the Brotherhoods arrive at the Cathedral and there they begin to assemble for the solemn procession. There are over two thousand hooded friars who, rigorously established order and in absolute silence and sadness, Vare precede the dead Christ and the Addolorata, thus starting the long funeral procession that will travel almost the whole city.
The culminating moment of the Easter celebrations occurs on Good Friday, When, in the early afternoon, all the Brotherhoods arrive at the Cathedral and there they begin to assemble for the solemn procession. There are over two thousand hooded friars who, rigorously established order and in absolute silence and sadness, Vare precede the dead Christ and the Addolorata, thus starting the long funeral procession that will travel almost the whole city.
Opening the parade is the Compagnia della Passione, whose brothers carry on trays i 25 symbols of the martyrdom of Christ, called the Mysteries: the cross, the bag with the thirty pieces of silver, the crown, lantern, the rooster, nails and tools for lashing. They follow the other brotherhoods and, with the utmost composure, The procession slowly winds its way through the streets until reaching the church cemetery, Former Capuchin Monastery, where it is imparted, the faithful, the blessing with the cross reliquary containing a thorn from the crown of Christ. The procession, then, back towards the Cathedral.
Easter Sunday, 'A PACI
The rites of Holy Week, they continue on Easter Sunday with the said ceremony ‘in Paci, When, between two wings of the crowd, and a joyful sound of bells, in the square adjacent to the Cathedral, the statues of the Risen Christ and the Virgin Mary meet and triumphantly are brought inside the church, where they remain exposed for the veneration of the faithful for a week.
Low Sunday
On the Sunday following Easter, called Sunday in Albis, Brotherhoods, College of the SS. Salvatore, Holy Spirit and the College of S. Giuseppe, the Vicar Forane of the city and the faithful, they go in procession near the Castle of Lombardy, dove, with the statue of the Trinity carried by the confraternity of the Holy Spirit, It is imparted the solemn blessing of the fields.
It returns, then, towards the Cathedral, before stopping in Piazza Mazzini, where it gives life to the traditional ceremony and final, la this Departure (separation) chaired by Venerable Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, in which the College Confraternity of SS. Savior and St Joseph's College back in the possession of their respective fercoli (the risen Son and Mother) and bring back them in churches belonging, to symbolize the necessary detachment to worldly conclusion of the mission of Christ who returns to the Father. The Confraternity of St. Joseph, leading to shoulder the bier with Madonna, It is accompanied in their own church by the simulacrum of the Trinity carried by the confraternity of the Venerable Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit.
