Thousands of people turned out to see the traditional Holy Week procession in the Andalusian city
Some distant drums are heard. “They’re coming,” comments the one with the finest ear. Necks are stretched in the Plaza de Fray Alonso de Santo Tomás in Malaga. There are people who have been waiting since the confinement of La Paloma, which took place around three in the morning of this Holy Thursday. It is 12:23 p.m. and the honor company of the Tercio ‘Duque de Alba’, II of the Legion is about to arrive to the transfer of the Christ of the Good Death.
This transfer is one of the most anticipated moments of Holy Thursday. Thousands of people attend the disembarkation in the Port of Malaga, or the route that the legionnaires are going to make, parading to the square where the transfer will take place. The televisions and the broadcasts in ‘streaming’ work with wide deployments, because it is not only people from Malaga who want to experience this act. in the same square There are people from Ciudad Real, Toledo, Córdoba, Valencia, Alicante… Many have come expressly to be in the transfer.
The tribune of authorities also has a curious mix. The Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, is next to the bishop of Malaga, Jesus Catalanand the older brother of the Congregation, Antonio de la Morena. But there is also the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Junta, Carolina Spain; actor antonio banderas and your partner, Nicole Kimpelvarious councilors from the Malaga City Council and officials from the Junta, and José María García, the historic radio host, taking photos and chatting with the public.
Everything stops at the sound of drums. Shortly after, the Legion’s War Band arrives at legionary pace together with the company of honors, which is located in formation on one side of the square. The applause mixes with the “vivas” to the Legion.
The first act is the exchange of the banner of the Christ of the Good Death, bordered with the scripts of the thirds of the Legion. This piece, with the image of Christ as protector of the body, will be guarded all year round in the Tercio ‘D. Juan de Austria’, III of the Legion, after being received by the colonel in charge of this unit, Enrique Gomariz Devesa.
The transfer begins
After this formal act, silence returns to the square. You can hear how the wooden doors of Santo Domingo open. From inside the church you can hear how spenders recite part of the Legionary Creed before exiting. Military boots rumble on the floor and no one takes their eyes off the door. The bugle sounds and the National Anthem fills the square. The Christ of the Good Death comes out on shoulders while the sun falls on the dark image of the crucified. The Legion scripts make him a hall of honor where he passes at a slow pace. The War Band begins to play the first chords of ‘Novio de la Muerte’, which without being an official song, is so popular and typical of this body that it is sung very frequently. The Christ is carried by the legionaries to the rhythm of the ‘Groom of Death’ and is shown to the public present in the square.
After the end, the Christ is exposed in the square. The Bishop of Málaga, Jesús Catalá, remembers the dead of the body, especially Antonio Martorell, Chief of the General Staff of the Navy who died on March 31. After the prayer of an Our Father and a Hail Mary, the prayer is played while the crucified is slowly raised.
After this, the march “Cristo de la Legión” by Eloy García sounds, and the enthronement of Christ begins. Once on the throne, the legionnaires sing the Legion Hymn and recite a portion of the legionary creed before returning. In the afternoon, more.