A very special little story, The Virgen of Los Dolores, receives her new crown

The Virgen of Los Dolores, Torre Pacheco

Coming from an essentially protestant nation, many of us living here will not instinctively understand the significance of religious acts which define the essence of the region in which we live, or ever truly appreciate the depth of feeling they evoke.

 

The forthcoming Semana Santa celebrations are a time of deep spiritual connectivity for local communities and small acts of faith are taking place in many during the next 2 weeks, in preparation for the most important week in the religious year.

 

Throughout history, exquisitely carved statues have featured in the processions, borne by the faithful in an act of reverence and penitence, some of them many hundreds of years old, representing the patrons of their respective communities and the acts which took place during the last week of Jesus' life.

One such statue is the Virgen de los Dolores, who belongs to the little hamlet of that name within the municipality of Torre Pacheco.

 

She's just been graced with a new crown, presented by the Bishop of Cartagena in a ceremony which took place last weekend, closing the door on an extraordinary chapter in the history of this area.

 

There's a deep reluctance to talk about the events which plunged this country into Civil War, a time in which families were divided and this region was punished for its loyalty to the elected government. Unimaginable hardships occurred and atrocities were committed that left deep scars in the consciousness of the population and rifts which have never healed

The Catholic Church at the beginning of the 20^th century in Spain was  powerful, infuential and vocal, a disastrous combination which left it vulnerable to attack during the turbulent years which preceded the civil war, as Spain struggled to cope with massive economic recession and misery. Violently opposed to the political powers of the early 1930's the church was weakened by constant attack, part of which involved unprovoked destruction of sacred artefacts.

One victim of the violence was the Virgin de Los Dolores, the patron of the town, who was attacked and burnt on the night of the 23^rd July in 1936, when she was reduced to a pile of ashes, only her singed and tattered robes being saved by frantic locals who fought the fire.

The loss of their patron was a source of great misery to the residents of the little community, and following the war they resolved to make a new statue in her honour, and on the night of 15^th March in 1940, a new Virgin, in the lovingly repaired and restored robes emerged from the home which had sheltered her remains to the ecstatic applause of the population.

She wore the best the villagers could offer her, albeit slightly more humble headwear than prior to the devastating war, but at least she was back.

Last week, she was finally restored to her former splendour with the presentation of a new crown, celebrating the 70^th anniversary of her triumphant emergence from the house where she was hidden throughout the war, a service presided over by the Bishop of Cartagena which effectively closed the chapter on this episode of local history.

 

This coming weekend, on the 14^th March,  she will triumphantly parade in her Romeria from the finca La Almazara to her home in the little church of Los Dolores de Pacheco, once again, restored to the glory she enjoyed before the civil war in Spain ripped the country apart.

 And at last the door can close.

 

 

Madre del cielo

Refugio de pecadores

Patrona de este pueblo

Virgen de Los Dolores

 

Los vecinos de Dolores

En busca de su patrona

Partieron hacia La Almazara

Para que no te encontraras sola

 

Cuando se abrieron las puertas

Y saliste a la calle

Los vivas y aplausos

Iban para ti, nuestra madre

 

Y entre tanta emocion

Se vio al anciano llorar

Murmurando una oracion

A su Madre Celestial

 

Ya estaas en tu camarin

Con tu cara tan bonita

Mandando tu bendicion

A este pueblo de la Ermita

 

A la Virgen de Los Dolores

El pueblo entero te admira

Con esa preciosa corona

Que tu frente ilumina

 

Los vecinos de Dolores

Venimos a suplicarte

Que nos alegres tu cara

Que ya has sufrido bastante

 

Madre que siempre nos guias

Por el camino de la esperanza

Acogenos en tu Corazon

Y mandanos tu bendicion

 

Felix Marin Rosique

 

 

 

 

 

 

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