The Christ of the Good Death, donated by Carmen Sevilla, parades for the third year in Marbella

The Christ of the Good Death, donated by Carmen Sevilla, has paraded for the third year through the streets of the Old Quarter of Marbella, with the processional departure of the Royal, Illustrious, Venerable, and Ancient Sacramental Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus Nazarene, Most Holy Mary of Greatest Pain and Holy Sepulchre on Good Friday.

At noon, nine legionnaires from the X flag squadron of the Legion Alejandro Farnesio carried the Christ of the Good Death on their shoulders from the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre accompanied by his mother, Most Holy Mary of Greatest Pain, from where the procession started at 21:00 hours.

The Christ was donated by Carmen Sevilla to the parish of the Incarnation last decade, later being guarded by the Brotherhood, with which the artist had a great connection and worshipped its Virgin, Most Holy Mary of Greatest Pain. The work dates from the 18th century and its possible author is Mariano Benlliure.

The artist's visits to the coastal city occurred every year, where each spring she underwent fasting treatments at a private clinic; her participation in the Holy Week of Marbella is also well-known.

“Carmen Sevilla had a strong connection with our Brotherhood, and she had a spectacular affection for our Virgin of Greatest Pain,” remarked the brotherhood's senior brother, Enrique Haro, who recalled that “there are many photos on the balcony with her on Holy Wednesdays,” when the Nazarene processes.

“When she came to Incosol for the weight loss treatments she did, she would take a taxi, come here and lock herself alone with the Virgin for a while,” the senior brother commented, emphasizing that the artist “only asked that we give love to her Christ.”

According to him, Carmen Sevilla kept the Christ in a chapel on the Extremaduran estate of her husband, Vicente Patuel, and once she sold the property “the only thing she did not want to leave behind was the Christ, she brought it to Marbella and donated it to the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation.” Subsequently, from the Brotherhood “we decided to ask the parish to let us take care of it, and that's why it processes.”

Advocacy of the Good Death

The Christ was donated to the parish of Our Lady of the Incarnation in 2017, where it has been installed since its arrival at the Altar of Mercy. “Once the Church received it, it was named the Good Death because it was a private devotion and did not have a defined name, it was called after the place where it was, the Cortijo de Los Molinos,” explained the previous senior brother, Juan Pedro Pérez Duarte.

The choice of the advocation stems from the relationship of the Brotherhood and the former property with the Spanish Legion: “We chose it because of the link we have with the Legion and because the previous owner was very connected to the Legion, as her husband, who was the owner of the Christ, was an Honorary Legionnaire,” he referred.

Thus, from its donation until it began to process on Good Friday, “its transfer was made on Holy Thursday night, when we entered with the Christ of the Good Death and exited with the Recumbent, and we made the transfer then,” he pointed out.

Pérez recalled that Carmen Sevilla started in the Brotherhood with “a very devotional connection because she came to the center and, as a public figure, she did not find the peace and tranquility she wanted in the Church to be able to pray.” “So, she asked the chapel to always come at the same time, just before opening, and to stay a few moments alone praying to the Virgin,” he added, highlighting that “at one point she said she wanted us to love the Christ, to worship him.”