Holy Week In Guatemala: Procession On Jesus Nazarene Of The Mercy On Palm Sunday In Antigua Guatemala Editorial Photo

This image is carried in the procession called La Resena The Notice from La Merced The Mercy church in Antigua Guatemala, every Palm Sunday. The story is that after the earthquakes of Santa Marta, between 1773 and 1776, which destroyed most of the city, the president of the Spanish court in Guatemala, Martin de Mayorga, asked the Crown to move the city to a safer location. But some inhabitants, supported by the brotherhoods of the parishes, refused to leave. To force the transfer, it was ordered that the sculpture of Jesus Nazarene of the La Merced church, the most important image for the city, be moved to the new settlement called Nueva Guatemala de la Asuncion, today`s Guatemala City. After the forced transfer, the Church in Antigua Guatemala did not have an image of a Nazarene for a long time, until the image of Jesus from San Jerónimo was transferred here where it was renamed as Jesus Nazarene of Mercy, becoming one of the most symbolic images in the country. Holy Week in Guatemala is the celebration of the passion and death of Christ, through the processions carried out by the brotherhoods of all parishes nationwide, between Palm and Easter Sunday, usually at the end of March and beginning of April. Processions are characterized by colorful sawdust carpets that adorn the streets, and images of Jesus and Mary carried on shoulders by large congregations for long periods of time. The Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic forced the suspension of processions for two years.