Holy Week has been celebrated in Trujillo since the 7th century. At that time, it only consisted of the contemplation of the mysteries of the Passion. Later, with the reconquest of the city in 1233, a military order called “The Knights of the Order of Truxillense” began to organize meetings to worship the Cross, which years later began to be processed by the Franciscans of the convent of La Luz. Here are the first Stations of the Cross.
Years later, with the consolidation of the guilds of merchants and artisans that constituted “trades” and were distributed throughout the streets and arcades of the Plaza Mayor of Trujillo, a feeling of brotherhood and an atmosphere of religious fervor began to emerge (because an image of the Crucified Christ says more than a thousand sermons), and massive sacramental performances began to be celebrated. The church courtyards were too small and if we add to this that there was a part of the population with physical disabilities to attend these performances, we have as a result that the artisan guilds themselves would be the precursors of each carrying their own image in procession. It was the late 15th century.
Years of poor harvests, epidemics, and wars induced public acts of penance, asking for heavenly favors in the face of various evils. Thus, the brotherhoods acquired a penitential character, such as a Stations of the Cross that would tour the medieval town of Trujillo. In the 17th century, the Baroque style made the processional sculptures take on great realism. An example of this can be found in the figure of “Jesus of Nazareth” which is now in the choir of the Church of San Francisco.
As in all of human history, dark times arrived and due to the war of independence with the French, the Trujillo Holy Week was abandoned. However, it resurfaced with force starting in 1980. The Trujillo Holy Week has been gaining more and more relevance and today has more than 3,000 brothers in 7 brotherhoods. In 2012 it was declared a Regional Tourist Interest Festival. Today, the Trujillo Holy Week is a spectacle that has its air of fervor, its air of reflection, and an attraction amply justified for you to come to our homes to take a few days off and enjoy them.
The information in this article is a summary of the information in the websit: SemanaSantaTrujillo.com
