One of the most grandiose events for Quito’s religious community, the great procession of Good Friday follows the morning Via Crucis prayer on the final Friday of Holy Week, paying tribute to the moment when Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death. Tens of thousands- many donning purple robes and coned hoods reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan- flock to the city’s historic center, winding through the streets in a solemn mass. It’s a colorful scene and unique to Quito, not to be missed. Watch it from a high balcony or join the masses walking through the streets.
The procession begins at midday and lasts until three, beginning and ending at the San Francisco church and making its way through El Centro. Traditional purple-hooded cucuruchos (representing penitents, many donning thorny headpieces, massive crosses and chains around their feet demonstrating their will to change) and robed Verónicas (also wearing purple dresses and black shrouds as they pay tribute to the women who wiped the sweat and blood from Jesus’ face as he was carried on the cross) encircle a figure of Jesus and the Virgen Dolorosa (Virgin of Sorrow), further surrounded by the solemn masses.
The procession ends at three- the hour of Jesus’ death- and is followed by a ceremony reconstructing the Descent from the Cross at six in the evening. Some Quito churches make quite an ordeal of this, with the priest recounting the story of the apostles performing the sepulcher of Christ from his pulpit. Finally, designated men remove the nails from the crucified Christ, passing the body along to a group of women who lay him to rest in a white tunic and flowers.