CORPUS CHRISTI FESTIVAL IN MALAGA - 6th JUNE 2010

Corpus Christi is the Catholic holiday in honour of the presence of the body of Christ in the Holy Wafer.

It is celebrated throughout Spain and is held in either May or June depending on when Easter occurs. To calculate the next Corpus Christi date, look for the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday (the eighth Sunday after Easter) and you’ll know when the fiesta is set to begin in towns and villages throughout Andalusia.

Malaga recovered the Corpus Christi procession yesterday afternoon, after doing it in the morning for seven years. A change whose main objective is to attract more visitors, was fulfilled. The amount of spectators and participants in the procession through the streets of the city center was higher than in previous years.

At 20:35 hours under the tolling of bells and applause of the audience that filled Bishop Square, the Most Blessed Sacrament in one of the novelties of this edition first came out the front door of the cathedral being carried by the Bishop of the diocese, Jesus Catala, who was accompanied by his predecessor, Antonio Dorado Soto and Fernando Sebastian. Moments later, under the strains of the national anthem, performed by the Municipal band music, the consecrated Host was placed in the silver temple situated on a motorized hearse decorated with white gladioli coves and dotted with ears of corn.

Nine Altars

The procession walked past the nine altars installed on the tour. One of the most striking was that of the Last Supper, chaired by its owner cristífero and located in the Plaza del Siglo, while that of Humility and Patience, in Calle Larios, was rewarded for the cathedral chapter.

The Congregation of the Patrons and the Brotherhood of Victoria prior to the representation of the six Archpriest (set territorial parishes) of the city: Santa Maria de la Victoria, Cristo Rey, Virgen del Mar, Los Angeles, San Patricio and San Cayetano . As a novelty, each parish had a cross and a sign with the name of it and behind the faithful. Behind them, the evening worship groups, six children, about 70 children for first communion, the clergy, the coach, the bishop and the canopy of respect.