Due to the restrictions of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the procession was shown in a different format via virtual transmission. Like many virtual events during the pandemic, a virtual platform was not the same as being face to face with the enormity of the Crucifixion. Viernes Santo (Good Friday) fell on April 15, 2022. For the first time in two years, the actual Procesión del Silencio (Procession of Silence) took place live on Avenida Madero, Morelia's main street.
Hooded drummers marked the beat of Morelia's penitential Procesión del Silencio: Good Friday's silent procession commemorating both the crucifixion of Christ and his Mother's grief. Only the drumbeat broke the silence along the route.
Nuestra Señora de Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows). Hooded members of various Catholic confraternities (religious organizations founded in Europe in the 15th Century) carry these life-size statues on their wooden platforms approximately three kilometers through Morelia's Centro Histórico.
Jesus during la Oración en el Huerto (praying in the Garden of Gethsemane), just prior to his arrest on Holy Thursday night. Boy Scouts (the young man in red at the right of the photo) hold the protective rope all along the route of the procession.
El Señor del Pilar (the Lord of the Column) depicts Jesus, bound to a column, and whipped by Roman soldiers after his conviction.
Roman soldiers.
The majority of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio takes place after dark, by candlelight.
The Legion of Christ carry their banner and their lamps. The Procesión del Silencio lasts about four hours. During that time, all of Morelia's Centro Histórico is closed to vehicular traffic.
Jesus carries the cross a cuestas (on his back) to Calvary. More than 50,000 spectators stood along the entire route of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio.
Penitents from one of Morelia's confraternities carry their crosses the length of the procession. Many march barefoot through the city streets. The procession will celebrate its forty-first anniversary this year.
Robed and hooded members of another Catholic confraternity carry a small image of the crucified Christ. As a sign of penitence, tall pointed hoods called capirotes cover the faces of those who march.
Clothed in gold and black, these marching penitents carry huge metal torches.
Six men of all ages carry Cristo Muerto (the dead Christ), while six others follow as relief when the burden of the image, the platform, the lights, and the flowers becomes too heavy. The man at the far right of the photo carries one of two saw horses used to support the platform during occasional pauses in the procession.
At the end of the Procesión del Silencio, la Virgen de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude) follows the body of her crucified Son. The platform bearing her image holds burning candles, a purple and gold velvet canopy, and banks of fresh flowers.
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