THE BROTHERHOOD OF SANTA ROSARIO IS OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED IN XÀBIA

A new Cofradía has been formally announced in Xàbia, an association of men and women who have become responsible for the bearing of the image of the Virgin Mary during religious festivals in the municipality.

Titled the Cofradía del Santa Rosario de Xàbia (the Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary of Xàbia), its origins date back to 2018 when the image of the Virgin Mary – the Dolorosa – was left without any bearers for the descent of the town’s treasured image of Jesús Nazareno from the iconic blue-domed chapel of Calvario. Since the priest decreed that if the Dolorosa was unable to leave the chapel then neither would her son, a group of eight volunteers came together to lift the image onto their shoulders and carry it down to the heart of the historic centre, thus ensuring that the traditional procession marking the Third Sunday of Lent would take place.

In the following years, a group of residents drew together to ensure that the image would never again be without bearers and to ensure that Xàbia wouldn’t lose it faith, their numbers growing from those eight volunteers to more than 90 men, women and children in 2024. In 2022, their shoulders bore the weight of both the Dolorosa and the image of the Crucified Christ during the solemn Good Friday procession and they will continue to do so.

In November 2023, the Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary of Xàbia was formally established and made official by the Archbishop of Valencia and a special mass and signing of the documentation was held inside the church of San Bartolomé at the end of January 2024. Now, the Brotherhood is working to restore the old traditions, especially those of Semana Santa (Holy Week), and promote the devotion to the four images of Dolorosa, Cristo, Esperanza and Soledad, whilst also incorporating two more: a little donkey with Jesús and the Resucitado (the Risen Lord).

Vía Matris – Saturday 23rd March 2024

One of the traditions that the Brotherhood will be restoring to the religious agenda in Xàbia will be the procession of Vía Matris (The Way of the Mother) on Saturday 23rd March. The act is the counterpoint to the Vía Crucis (The Stations of the Cross) and depicts the Seven Sorrows of Mary (which are, in order, the Prophecy of Simeon and Anna, the Flight into Egypt, the Loss of the Child Jesus, the Condemnation of Jesus, the Crucifixion, the Retrieval of Jesus’ Body from the Cross, and the Burial of Jesus).

Carrying the image of the Virgin Mary, the procession will leave the church of the Augustines Convent at 7.30pm and travel to some of the old corners of the historic centre along the route that will include Calle Doctor Borrull, Carrer Damià Giner, Carrer Santo Domingo to visit the niche of the saint, Carrer Nou (the niche of San Ignacio de Loyola), Carrer Teuleria (the niche of San Juan Bautista), Carrer Santo Domingo, Carrer Damià Giner, Calle Doctor Borrull, Carrer Mare de Déu de la Soletat (the niche of the venerated image being carried), Carrer Jesús Nazareno (the niche of the venerated image of the Nazarene), Ronda Colón, Placeta del Convent, Carrer Metge González, Carrer Mayor (the niche of San Cristóbal), Carrer Primícies and Carrer Sant Bonaventura, finishing at the church of San Bartolomé in the heart of the historic centre.