March 31, 2023 / 9:40 p.m.
On the last day of March, the Peruvian faithful were surprised that for the fourth consecutive year the image of the Lord of Miracles will not go out in procession through the streets of Lima (Peru) next Good Friday, as had been done in the last two decades.
The information was confirmed to ACI Prensa by José Soto, butler of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles. As he indicated, this is because “the tradition of the Lord of Miracles is in the month of October, it is not on Easter.”
However, for about 20 years the Christ of Pachacamilla also walked the streets on Good Friday. This happened while Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani was at the head of the Archbishopric of Lima (1999-2019). Even in 2019, when his resignation was accepted, the procession was also held.
However, in January 2020, with Bishop Carlos Castillo being the new Archbishop of Lima, changes were announced.
Soto first stated in a personal interview with ACI Prensa that the suspension of the procession during Holy Week was due to a resolution by Cardinal Cipriani. But later he rectified himself by phone, pointing out that, according to his general secretary, this was due to “an attribution that was taken at that time by the Mayordomo who was in charge.”
Thus, this special procession, which brought together thousands of devotees from all over the world during Holy Week, was canceled 4 years ago, even before the pandemic, when Bishop Carlos Castillo had not even completed one year as Pastor of the Peruvian capital. .
On January 28, 2020, Manuel Orrillo Peña, butler of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles at that time, reported through the Brotherhood’s Facebook that Mons. Castillo had called him on the phone.
“The Archbishop of Lima, Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio, told me that the Lord of Miracles no longer comes out on Easter. He has asked me to focus on making the October celebrations as memorable as possible and that the Cristo Moreno will come out exclusively in October, ”said Orrillo.
On the other hand, Soto pointed out that the walk and the image of the Lord of Miracles do not belong to the Brotherhood, but belong to the Nazarene Barefoot Carmelite Mothers, who have guarded the Cristo Moreno for several centuries.
In this sense, ACI Prensa sought to know, personally and by telephone, the opinion of the nuns on the suspension of the procession, but in the Sanctuary of the Nazarenes they reported that the nuns were meeting with the Archbishop.
Likewise, an attempt was made to obtain a statement from the communications area of the Archdiocese of Lima, including by email, but no official response was obtained until the closing of this note.
Abel Camasca is a social communicator and member of the Salesian Family. He was for many years a producer for EWTN News and the program “More than News” on World Catholic Radio. He currently works as a journalist for ACI Prensa.