“Let us labor for an inward stillness, an inward stillness which is the very heaven, where dwells the divine and the infinite.”
— Vincent Ferrer, 13th century Dominican monk, founder of the Brotherhood of La Sanch
It is Good Friday. A multitude of spectators and I stand in the square before the 14th century Gothic Catalan Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist under the warm sun of Perpignan, France. We begin to hear the mournful cadence of a drum approaching as we watch in anticipation around the corner. Those native to Perpignan would know the meaning of the drum beat, but for outsiders like myself, the sight of men dressed in tall red or black pointed hoods (called cuperutxa in the Catalan language), and matching robes carrying a life-size, heavy bier of the crucified Jesus on their shoulders could cause some to shudder. This procession acts as their penance for sins committed during the past liturgical year. Women, old and young, also participate by dressing in black and carrying lifesize statues of Mary, mourning the suffering and death of her Son.
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I was witnessing La Sanch, the Catalan word for The Blood, which is a traditional procession of penitents that takes place each year in Perpignan commemorating the Passion and Agony of Christ on Good Friday. Having grown up in the Roman Catholic tradition, I was curious to see La Sanch and to try to grasp the meaning of Good Friday in ways I might not have in my youth. Living there gave me that opportunity. In the small Catholic church where my friends and I attended services on Sundays, the Stations of the Cross were prominently displayed on the walls, and we did our penance under the guidance of the Dominican nuns. La Sanch, however, was much more compelling than my experience of the Stations as a child in Catholic school — more real and alive, and even more beautiful in its way.
Witnessing La Sanch as a Catholic adult who participated only rarely in the Church’s rituals brought me back to the story of the Passion and Agony of Jesus in ways that I had long lost sight of. As a young girl growing up in the Roman Catholic faith, I have no recollection of experiencing the religious fervor, almost palpable, demonstrated by the penitents in La Sanch and in such a large scale, a procession that went on for at least three hours. Before me were 700 penitents, women and men of all ages, professing their beliefs in a way I had never encountered before.
I had planned to attend La Sanch solely as a photographer, but as I followed the procession through the historic neighborhoods of Perpignan to its conclusion in Place Cassanyes — a short distance from the Church of Saint Jacques, where the procession begins each year and where it originated in the late Middle Ages — I was entranced by the solemnity of the occasion and the quiet display of religious devotion. No words were ever spoken by the penitents nor by the spectators. I tried to get a glimpse of the emotions of the hooded men, to see in their eyes how they felt, (impossible of course), but their participation alone was enough to surmise that their faith was genuine.
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Perpignan is not a tourist destination like Paris or Bordeaux, and it may only be given a cursory glance by French holiday makers on their way to nearby Mediterranean destinations, such as Collioure and Banyuls. I had never heard of Perpignan despite several visits to France over the years, but this little-known Catalan city near the Spanish border became a second home to me.
Experiencing La Sanch and what I felt watching the penitents, some barefoot, profess their belief in the life of Jesus, his suffering, and his resurrection on Easter Sunday, made me grateful for all I had relearned that sunny day. It brought back the memories of my Catholic youth and a rekindling of faith that had long been dormant. My gratitude for experiencing the intertwining of tradition, religion, and history will make experiencing Good Fridays to come all the more meaningful.
Historical note:
The Brotherhood of La Sanch was founded in 1416 by Vincent Ferrier, a Valencian Dominican monk, at the 13th century church of St. Jacques in Perpignan after Vincent almost died by an attack of fever in 1398 but was miraculously cured by an apparition of Christ, accompanied by St. Dominic and St. Francis. One of the acts carried out by the Brotherhood was the accompanying of a prisoner to his execution. Each member, including the accused, wore the pointed hood and robe to hide the accused’s identity so that a vengeful family could not take justice into their own hands. Today, the Brotherhood is a procession of 700 Good Friday penitents preserving a historical and religious tradition.
