Semana Santa in Bilbao – processions and visits 2009

Semana Santa is coming to Bilbao and we have prepared some special activities for the students at Instituto Hemingway.

The Semana Santa activities in Bilbao are running from the 3rd to the 12th of April. Below is the program with all the processions scheduled in Bilbao.

Our activities have been scheduled for the 6th, 7th and 8th of April at 8:30pm, the time at which the processions begin, and our plan is as follows:

- April 6th, Lunes Santo (Holy Monday). Procession of El Nazareno.
This is perhaps the most well-established procession in Bilbao and also one of the most popular, attracting many visitors. The procession begins at 8:30pm at the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asís and passes along Hurtado de Amézaga, Calle San Francisco, Puente de Cantalojas, Calle Cortes, and Conde de Mirasol before returning through San Francisco and Plaza Zabálburu.
This procession features two figures of extraordinary beauty: the figures of Our Father Jesus of Nazareth and Saint Mary Magdalene, which create an atmosphere which evokes that of the processions in the south of Spain. This procession reflects the faith and repentance of the faithful people of the district, which, in its day, was Bilbao’s red-light district. Today recalls that tradition and continues to stir up popular fervour.

- April 7th, Martes Santos (Holy Tuesday). Procession of Piety.
The procession passes through Casco Viejo first and finishes at the Parroquia de San Nicolás de Bari. It passes through some of the most emblematic streets of Bilbao’s Casco Viejo: Ascao, Cruz, Bidebarrieta, Correo, and Arenal. This procession features the figure of Our Lady of Piety.

- April 8th, Miércoles Santo (Holy Wednesday). Procession of Our Lady of Solitude. The procession starts in Casco Viejo and finishes at the Parroquia de los Santos Juanes and passes through some of the most emblematic streets of the Casco Viejo: Cruz, Bidebarrieta, Víctor, Sombrería and Plaza Nueva. At the end of the procession everyone sings the Salve Regina. The figures which feature in this procession are: The Cross, San Juan and Our Lady of Solitude.

As well as these processions which we will be going to, there are also processions on Jueves Santos (Maundy Thursday) – The Procession of the Last Supper, and Viernes Santo (Good Friday) – The Procession of The Entombment of Christ , which will bring together the thousands of visitors and which will feature all of Bilbao’s most important figures.