Costa del Sol News
José Antonio Sánchez Herrera, the parish priest of the Church of La Encarnación, recounted yesterday, during the Easter Week proclamation, local processions shrouded in sacred mystery in a Marbella devoted to devotion. The priest envisioned a "sea of palms and a Marbella transformed once again into Jerusalem" on Palm Sunday where "each one of us will be living witnesses of a God who enters triumphantly to surrender himself."
"Little brothers of the palms, you are the door to our Passion, the joyful announcement of a redeeming sacrifice. Children who will raise your palms to Heaven, announcing the arrival of the Lord to our streets," stated Sánchez Herrera, who took over as the proclaimer from the artist from Antequera, Antonio Montiel.
On Holy Monday, the normally bustling streets of Marbella will fall silent to hear the passing of the Lord of the Column.
"You are bound, yet you are freedom. Your captive hands uphold the faith of a people. Your wounded body is the firm pillar where our hope rests," Sánchez Herrera told the full auditorium of the Marbella City Theater.
On Holy Wednesday, the procession will move through the streets of Marbella with "the Lord of the weary step and serene gaze, whom I prayed to as a child by my grandmother’s hand." "Marbella becomes Jerusalem when you walk. Balconies lean out, candles flicker, and the heart of the people beats in time with your steps," stated the priest of one of the most emblematic churches in the municipality.
On Holy Thursday, the day of the Last Supper, the Lord gives the Body and Blood of Christ as nourishment for eternal life, "a sublime act, the sacrament that unites us and gives us strength to walk in His Passion."
It is also the eve of the day of the "Lord of the open arms, nailed between heaven and earth, reaching out not to flee from the world, but to embrace it entirely." "Marbella contemplates you knowing that in your cross lie all our crosses," added Sánchez Herrera.
And on Resurrection Sunday, dawn will break with a light that defeats the night, the sea that seems to proclaim victory, the open sky that announces that death does not have the last word. "And in the midst of this city bathed by the Mediterranean, among palms and orange blossoms, the glorious Resurrected Jesus walks again," added the priest, who learned last September that the Brotherhood Association had appointed him to proclaim Easter Week.
"I was surprised to receive the news, though I accepted this honor with deep emotion, humility, and a great sense of responsibility. Thank you, from the heart to those who thought of this humble priest," he said.
This year, for the first time in its history, Easter Week will include a segment that will proceed in silence, designed for people with autism spectrum disorder. It will take place on Holy Thursday, when the Brotherhood of Christ of Love will process through Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente street.
The first bell tolls of the three thrones of the Brotherhood will be led by Isabel Mata, José Sánchez, and Soledad de Montes.
