Good Friday processions in Baliuag or Holy Week procession in

Baliuag, Bulacan Baliwag, officially the City of Baliwag (; , Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen ning Baliwag/Siudad ning Baliwag,'' also spelled as ''Baliuag''), is a component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...

is an event taking place in

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

, in a traditional Roman Catholic culture of the St. Augustine Parish Church of Baliuag. In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

The etymology of the term "good" in the context of Good Friday is contested. Some sources claim it is from the senses ''pious'', ''holy'' of the word "good", while others contend that it is a corruption of "

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Friday". is a

religious holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

observed primarily by Christians commemorating the

crucifixion of Jesus Christ The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross.The instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus forming a "cruciform" or T-shaped structure. ...

and his death at

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

. The holiday is observed during

as part of the

Paschal Triduum The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum (Latin: ''Triduum Paschale''), Holy Triduum (Latin: ''Triduum Sacrum''), or the Three Days, is the Christian period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its ...

on the Friday preceding

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the latter properly refers to the Friday in Easter week. GoodFridayprocessionsinBaliuagjf2001 05

Baliuag Good Friday processions like any other religious

processions A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

are found in almost every form of Christian and Catholic worship, such as

processions. Some biblical examples were the processions with the

Ark of Covenant The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest and relic held to be the most sacred object by the Israelites. Religious tradition describes it as a wooden storage chest decorat ...

and the procession of

Jesus on a donkey Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

into Jerusalem.

History

The procession was started by the Augustinian Missionaries who founded Baliwag and established the Church on May 26, 1733. Fray Juan de Albarran, O.S.A. was the First of the Pastores de Baliuag. The oldest record about the procession of Baliuag can be seen on the carriage of " Sancta Maria Mater Angustia" a label engraved with 1863 under Fray Fausto Ambrosio López Palomino, O.S.A. and Fray Matías Novoa, O.S.A. The oldest image is reported to be the "

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

" carroza, the maternal gaze of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary together with Mary Magdalene, John the Apostle, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus. Rolando Villacorte, who authored the book "Baliwag Then and No

revealed that in the 291-year-old procession, life-sized

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

s (religious

heirloom In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a family bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery. The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in ...

s) are mounted on carrozas decorated with brass or wood motifs, flowers, and lights. Ronald Sauco, the 7th generation caretaker (Sauco family) owns the 400 years old image of Saint

Mary Salome In the New Testament, Salome was a follower of Jesus who appears briefly in the canonical gospels and in apocryphal writings. She is named by Mark as present at the crucifixion and as one of the Myrrhbearers, the women who found Jesus's empty ...

. "Camarero" Flordeliza Trinidad-Sarmiento inherited, from her grandmother, Candelaria Trinidad, the 100 years old

Saint Veronica Saint Veronica, also known as ''Berenike'', was a widow from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian traditions. Apocryphal texts relate how Veronica was moved with sympathy seeing Jesus carrying the cr ...

in the "karo" which has been part of the first 17 carriages paraded since 1863. From the 1950s, the Procession of the Carrozas was held under Rev. Fr. Ruperto T. Del Rosario, D.P., Bishop Amado Paulino y Hernandez (1969–1985) and Bishop, Leopoldo A. Arcaira, who encouraged the faithful to sponsor additional carrozas, to showcase the local's artistry and craftsmanship. The original 17 colorful images and carriages became larger in 1966 after the trend to own at least 6-feet tall statues. In 1987, yearly "palabas" had only 60 images, handled by "Hermandad Del Siete Dolores". The images teach pilgrims "moving

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

." In the 2023 Holy Wednesday and Good Friday processions, 126 carriages were expected to join the procession but less participated. The 2024 Holy Wednesday and Good Friday Processions in Baliuag are confirmed as the longest Philippine Lenten processions. Over 127 life-sized statues or gargantuan images depicting the Way of the Cross placed on well-lit and decorated carriages are paraded through the streets. The processions started at 6:00 p.m. from the Church patio to F. Vergel de Dios St., Año 1733 St., R.E. Chico St. to Plaza Naning and back to the Church for Blessing at 11:30 p.m. In starring roles are No 1. - San Pedro (Chico, Rodriguez and Maria Victoria Santa Maria from Patriarch Vicente Santa Maria) and the last, No. 127. Virgen Dolorosa (a. Palm Sunday - Ms. Adoracion Esteban), (b. Holy Wednesday - Fr. Federico M. Ramos III from Federico T. Ramos Sr.) and (c. Good Friday, Christina Vda. De Cruz Family). The Good Friday procession is preceded by

Ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

of "Pagtatayo ng Krus" at 6:00 a.m. followed by "Pagsundo" ("Dapit") after "serenata" of Santo Entierro, including the parade of Saint Dimas and Hestas images, followed by "Dapit" with Serenata for Mater Dolorosa, Crucifixion, 7

Sayings of Jesus on the cross The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...

, Removal from the Cross,

Burial of Jesus The burial of Jesus refers to the entombment of the body of Jesus after his crucifixion before the eve of the sabbath. This event is described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel narratives, he was placed in a tomb by a cou ...

and Mass of the Presanctified.

Carrozas

, the 2013 "Prusisyon ng mga Santo" was the Lenten rite wherein 96 carrozas participated compared to some 80 religious images that were paraded through the streets in the previous years. In the Lenten

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

, religious fervor and piety compelled the town people of Baliuag to launch over a hundred richly adorned giant floats depicting the passion of Jesus Christ. Held every Holy Wednesday and Good Friday, the procession starts at 6:00 in the Evening. The grand procession of more than 80 images became an anticipated attraction on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday. The 2013 Good Friday 96 massive carriages carrying life size dioramas depicting a scene in the life of Jesus were paraded all over town after sunset. The solemn rite on Good Friday, called the Baliuag Lenten Procession was witnessed by local and foreign tourists, including the

Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines The Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines is a top-level diplomatic mission assigned by the Holy See to the Philippines, located at 2140 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila. Diplomatically, an apostolic nuncio may be equivalent to an ambassador, and ...

' Apostolic Nuncio on that time, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, who was accompanied by his aide Msgr. Gabor Pinter. It is the longest Lenten procession in the Philippines, followed by the Holy Week Procession from the San Isidro Labrador Parish from the nearby town of Pulilan. The 96 Baliuag ( St. Augustine Parish Church of Baliuag) floats showcased the grand parade of lavishly decorated carriages which event culminated in the blessing with holy water of the floats and the faithful by 2 Baliuag Priests from the Team Ministry of the

Diocese of Malolos The Diocese of Malolos (Latin language, Latin: ''Dioecesis Malolosinae''; Tagalog language, Tagalog: ''Diyosesis ng Malolos''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Malolos'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church i ...

. In the 2017 Holy Week Procession, the carrozas has an approximate of 117 carrozas compared in 2016, when there was 114 carrozas only. In 2018, only 1 carroza was added, making the total number of carrozas to 118, by 2019, there are now 121 (including 3 additional carrozas: 121A, 121B and 121C). When the procession returned in 2022 after a two-year break, an additional float was added making it at 122 carrozas. In 2023, the number of carrozas had reached up to 126. Later on 2024, It reached up to 127 carrozas. As of 2025, there was an additional carroza, making it up to 128 carrozas.

Footnotes

References

External links

Good Friday traditions, solemn rites held today Holy Wednesday Focuses On Judas' Betrayal Of Jesus

* ttps://archive.today/20130416095035/http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=5223&sid=1&subid=1 Baliuag processions
Tourists witness Good Friday procession in Baliwag

The Eastern Orthodox commemoration of Holy Friday

Great Friday
instructions from S. V. Bulgakov's ''Handbook for Church Servers'' (

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

)
"Good Friday"
article from ''

The Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

''
Episcopal Good Friday Service

Presbyterian Good Friday Service
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History

Carrozas

See also

Related days

Footnotes

References

External links