The Sevillian town of Gerena, in Andalusia, celebrates this Saturday, September 12, the canonical coronation of Mary Most Holy of the Blood, titular of the Brotherhood of the Vera-Cruz. The Archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses, will preside at 7:30 p.m. the pontifical in Fernández Velasco Square, where he will place on the image a crown weighing 3.2 kilos made with more than three kilos of gold donated by brothers and devotees.
The piece, the work of the Cordoban goldsmith Manuel Valera, has been made in 22-carat gold and includes jewels and antique pieces contributed by families from Gerena. The ceremony will culminate a process begun after the announcement of the coronation in November 2023 and accompanied in recent years by devotions, educational activities and various social and missionary initiatives.
A devotion linked to the history of Gerena
Mary Most Holy of the Blood is an anonymous carving from the 18th century and co-titular of the Brotherhood of the Vera-Cruz of Gerena, a corporation whose origins date back to the first third of the 16th century. The image usually processes through the streets of the town every Holy Thursday.
The coronation was announced on November 28, 2023 during a Eucharist celebrated in the church of San Benito Abad, canonical seat of the brotherhood.
The request had previously been submitted to the archbishop during an audience in which the corporation presented the devotions and events planned on the occasion of the 425th anniversary of the merger of the brotherhoods of San Benito and Vera-Cruz. As explained by the elder brother, Francisco López Domínguez, the coronation had long been a desire of the brotherhood.
Since then, a preparation program has been developed that has combined devotions with cultural, educational and charitable activities. The events closest to the coronation began in early September and have included a triduum held between the 5th and 7th and the main function on September 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin.
More than three kilos of gold donated by the devotees
One of the most unique elements of the coronation will be the insignia made expressly for the image.
According to the Archdiocese of Seville reported, the crown weighs three kilos and 200 grams, is crafted on both sides and has been made in 22-carat gold, a purity higher than the 18 carats usually used in this type of pieces.
To make it, more than three kilos of gold donated by brothers and devotees of Gerena were gathered. A large part of the metal comes from antique pieces, mainly from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The contributions made it possible to incorporate into the new crown jewels preserved for generations by different families. Father Amador Domínguez, a native of Gerena and member of the coronation commission, explained that the origin of those pieces even conditioned the high purity of the gold used.
The crown was publicly presented last July 31 in the church of San Benito Abad. During the subsequent events, the brotherhood delivered certificates to the families and individuals who had donated gold for its making. The official program of the coronation presents the insignia as the fruit of the contributions of “sons, brothers and devotees” of the Virgin.
Coronation in Fernández Velasco Square
The day will begin with the opening of the church of San Benito Abad in the morning and the recitation of the Angelus before the Virgin at midday.
At 5:00 p.m., Mary Most Holy of the Blood will process from her temple to Fernández Velasco Square. In the procession, the gold crown that the archbishop will later impose will also be carried.
The coronation pontifical will begin at 7:30 p.m., presided over by Saiz Meneses. The musical part will be in charge of the SACRA Chamber Group, with orchestra and choir.
Once the celebration is over, it is planned that the image will begin at 10:30 p.m. a triumphal procession through the streets of Gerena, accompanied by the Band of Cornets and Drums of the Most Holy Christ of the Remedies of Castilleja de la Cuesta and the Municipal Band of Music of Gerena. The program also includes the inauguration of a commemorative monument and fireworks.
From Gerena to the Peruvian Amazon
The preparation of the coronation has also had a social and missionary dimension through the program “A crown of twelve stars”, which has brought together initiatives related to charity, catechesis, marriage pastoral care and the donation of blood and organs, as well as collaborations with associations and foundations.
One of its actions has taken place thousands of kilometers from Gerena, in the Prelate of Moyobamba, in the Peruvian Amazon. There, the brotherhood has collaborated in the rehabilitation of a chapel intended to restore pastoral care to the inhabitants of the area and to serve as a base for humanitarian actions.
The brotherhood’s own project states that the chapel is dedicated to the Most Holy Christ of the Vera-Cruz and Mary Most Holy of the Blood and that it was conceived to bring religious care closer to the inhabitants of this Peruvian enclave.
The coronation of Gerena joins other Marian celebrations that have taken place this year in the Archdiocese of Seville. Last May, Saiz Meneses canonically crowned the Virgin of Villadiego, patroness of Peñaflor.
Gerena will thus culminate this Saturday, the feast of the Sweet Name of Mary, almost three years of preparation for the coronation. At the center of the ceremony will be a crown that gathers in its 3.2 kilos a large part of the gold donated by the devotees of the Virgin of the Blood themselves.