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March 20 to April 5 Semana Santa 2026 in Caravaca de la Cruz
The main processions in Caravaca are on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Easter Week
In the Holy City of Caravaca de la Cruz the first known documentary references to the celebration of Semana Santa, or Easter Week, date back to the 16th century, and there are now seven “cofradías” (brotherhoods) taking part in the processions. Most of the sculpted figures and tableaux paraded date from the 17th and 18th centuries, although it was not until the 18th that some of the processions began to climb the hill to the castle/sanctuary which houses the True Cross.
Since the Spanish Civil War the main processions have been limited to the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Easter Week and the schedule for 2026 is as follows:
Friday March 20
An unusual tradition in Caravaca is the celebration of “Friday of Lazarus” a week before Friday of Sorrows. Centuries ago the faithful used to pray all day on the altar to Lazarus in the Basílica Santuario de la Santísima y Vera Cruz and they can still do so between 9.00 and 19.00.
Then at 21.00 a torchlit Vía Crucis is held, starting at the monastery of Santa Clara and featuring the 17th-century figure of the Santísimo Cristo de las Ánimas. The route leads to the church of the Santísimo Cristo del Calvario (or “Cristo de la Reja”).
Route: Calle de las Monjas, Cuesta del Caño, Plaza del Ejido, La Cerca, Verónica, Calvario Derecha, Calvario Alto, church of Santísimo Cristo del Calvario.
Friday March 27 (Friday of Sorrows)
22.00: Vía Crucis of the Santísimo Cristo de los Voluntarios, with the figure of the Santísimo Cristo de los Voluntarios following the Stations of the Cross. Route: Iglesia del Salvador, Calle Mayor, Cuesta del Castillo, Sanctuary, Canapé, Aurora, church of El Salvador,
23.00: The Paso Azul brotherhood’s procession of the figure of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.
Route: Iglesia del Salvador, Calle Mayor, Gregorio Javier, Atienza, Vidrieras. At the church of Jesús Nazareno the Station of Penitence is observed and there is a meeting with the figure of Nuestro Padre Jesús, and the procession continues to Plaza de los Caballos del Vino, La Cruz, Cuesta de la Cruz and the church of La Purísima Concepción. Here there is another meeting with the figure of the Senor del Prendimiento, and then the group proceeds to Glorieta, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de Santa Teresa, Cuesta de las Herrerías, Rafael Tejeo and back to the Iglesia del Salvador.
Sunday March 29 (Palm Sunday)
11.00: The Procession of the Palms and the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Route: parish church of La Purísima Concepción, Glorieta, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de Santa Teresa, Cuesta de las Herrerías, Calle Mayor, church of El Salvador (where Mass is held).
Monday March 30
21.00: The children’s procession, with the figures of Ecce Homo (belonging to the Paso Encarnao), Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Inocencia (Paso Morado), San Juan de Letrán (Paso Blanco), Nuestra Señora de las Lágrimas (Paso Azul) and Nuestra Señora de los Clavos (Paso Negro).
Route: Corredera, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza Santa Teresa, Cuesta Manolo Mane, Rafael Tejeo, Calle Mayor, Plaza del Arco.
Tuesday March 31
22.00: Procession of the Oración del Huerto (the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane), starting at the church of El Salvador.
Route: Calle Mayor, Gregorio Javier, Atienza, Vidrieras, Canalejas, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de Santa Teresa, Cuesta de Manolo Mane, Rafael Tejeo, Calle Mayor, Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús.
Wednesday April 1
22.00: The Procession of the Taking of Christ, starting at the Iglesia del Salvador.
The figures on display are those of the Cristo del Prendimiento, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, La Verónica, Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Inocencia, San Juan de Letrán, San Juan Evangelista, Nuestra Señora de la Piedad, La Dolorosa and Nuestra Señora de las Lágrimas.
Route: Calle Mayor, Gregorio Javier, Atienza, Vidrieras, Canalejas, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de Santa Teresa, Cuesta de Manolo Mané, Rafael Tejeo, Calle Mayor, Iglesia de la Compañía.
Thursday April 2 (Maundy Thursday)
22.00:Procession of the Virgen Blanca, starting at the church of La Compañía de Jesús. Route: Rafael Tejeo, Santísimo, Maruja Garrido, Gran Vía, Puentecilla, Plaza del Arco, Calle Mayor and back to the starting point.
Midnight: The Penitential Procession of Silence with the figure of the Santísimo Cristo de los Voluntarios, starting at the church of El Salvador.
Route: Calle Mayor, Gregorio Javier, Atienza, Vidrieras, Canalejas, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de Santa Teresa, Cuesta de Manolo Mane, Rafael Tejeo, Calle Mayor, church of El Salvador
Friday April 3 (Good Friday)
11.00: The Procesión del Encuentro: the figures paraded are the Ecce Homo, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, La Verónica, Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Inocencia, San Juan de Letrán, San Juan Evangelista, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores and Nuestra Señora de las Lágrimas.
Route: Calle Mayor, Rafael Tejeo, Santísimo, Maruja Garrido, Gran Vía, Puentecilla, Plaza del Arco.
21.00: The Procesión del Santo Entierro, featuring the figures of the Santísimo Cristo de la Misericorida, San Juan Evangelista, Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, EL Santo Entierro, Nuestra Señora de la Soledad and Nuestra Señora de los Clavos. The procession ends at the church of El Salvador.
Route: Iglesia del Salvador, Calle Mayor, Gregorio Javier, Atienza, Vidrieras, Canalejas, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de Santa Teresa, Cuesta de las Herrerías, Rafael Tejeo, Calle Mayor and back to the Iglesia del Salvador.
Sunday April 5, Easter Sunday
8.00: The bells toll throughout the city and fireworks are let off.
8.30: Resurrection Mass in the church of La Purísima Concepción.
9.00: Breakfast of tortas fritas and choocolate in the Plaza del Templete.
8.00: The procession of Christ Resurrected, featuring the figures of Pasos: the Angel of Triumph, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Resurrected, St John the Evangelist and the Virgen dela Cabeza y Gloria.
Route: Church of La Purísima Concepción, Corredera, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza Santa Teresa, Cuesta Manolo Mane, Rafael Tejeo, Calle Mayor, Plaza del Arco.
For more local events, news and visiting information contact the local tourist office (telephone 968 702424) or go to the home page of Caravaca Today.
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Caravaca de la Cruz tourist office
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and shares boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.
Tourist office opening times:
Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
