Guadalajara’s mayor, Ana Guarinos, along with most of the municipal Corporation, attended the opening proclamation of Holy Week, delivered by the bishop of the Diocese of Sigüenza-Guadalajara, Julián Ruiz Martorell, at the Santa María co-cathedral, this Friday of Sorrows, which marks the beginning of Holy Week 2025.
The event, organized by the Guadalajara Brotherhood Board, was attended by numerous parishioners, as well as public, civil, and military authorities. The secretary of the Brotherhood Board, Antonio Ramos Nicolás, opened the event, and its president, José González Vegas, after describing in verse the feelings of a brotherhood member, presented the biography of the bishop, Julián Ruiz Martorell, who in his second year in the Diocese, will preside over all the events and rites of Holy Week in Guadalajara, after having done so last year in Sigüenza as part of the agreed alternation between the two Diocesan seats.
In his speech, the bishop presented Holy Week as the only week that lasts 12 months, highlighting its significance and the preparation it entails, with a humble invitation to all of Guadalajara to join in the celebration and collective experience of faith.
«Holy Week is a rich expression of culture, art, and devotion, where faith is manifested through various sensory elements such as music, silence, and processions,» said the bishop, reaffirming that Jesus Christ is the center of the celebration, and expressing the desire for His name to be heard in every corner, integrating the Christian message with popular culture «cultivating a genuine spirituality among the humble.»
He also emphasized the importance of living together, supporting each other, and combining efforts in a sense of brotherhood and solidarity, «with days of intense contemplation, not only aesthetic, but also spiritual and profound.»
Ruiz Martorell stressed that Holy Week «updates» the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ «which involves caring for others, recognizing them as brothers.»
The bishop concluded that Holy Week «is objectively holy, but also has a subjective purpose of personal and community sanctification, promoting deep reflection.»
After the intense proclamation by the bishop, Guadalajara’s mayor, Ana Guarinos, along with the president of the Brotherhood Board, José González Vegas, presented the traditional painting to the proclaimer, which symbolizes all the emblematic medals of the seven brotherhoods and fraternities of Holy Week in Guadalajara and of the Brotherhood Board itself.
The event concluded with a brilliant performance by the Guadalajara Symphonic Musical Association playing various processional marches.
Palm Sunday Procession
The next event on the Holy Week program in Guadalajara will be the Palm Sunday procession, which will take place on April 13 at 11:15 a.m. The solemn blessing of palms and the procession of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem will depart from the Church of San Ginés and will be accompanied by the Jesus Nazareno Cornet and Drum Band and the Drum Group of the Passion of the Lord Brotherhood. Following this, a solemn Eucharist presided over by Julián Ruiz, Bishop of the Diocese of Sigüenza-Guadalajara, will be celebrated at the Church of San Francisco.
The procession route will be as follows: La Carrera Street, Santo Domingo Square, Bejanque Square, and the Church of San Francisco.
