The Calvary

Illustrious, Pious, and Secular Brotherhood of Penitence and Confraternity of Nazarenes of the Sacred Way of Our Father Jesus of the Calvary, Our Lady of the Greatest Sorrow, and Saint Lawrence the Martyr.

History

Established in the Church of San Lorenzo since 1722, the year of its foundation, it set as a rule the recitation of the Holy Way of the Cross every Friday and feast day; holding a procession from the church to the Calvary located in the Marrubial, reaching great splendor in the 18th century.

In the 19th century, its fervor waned until it disappeared, later reorganizing in 1918, incorporating the devotion to the Greatest Sorrow under the current image of María Santísima Nazarena, until in 1939 Martínez Cerrillo sculpted Our Lady of the Greatest Sorrow. It was in 1945 that the brotherhood commissioned Castillo Ariza and Díaz Jiménez to create the current titular image of the confraternity, making its first procession during Holy Week in 1981.

Temple

Royal Parish of Saint Lawrence the Martyr. One of the fourteen temples erected by Saint Ferdinand in the city after the Reconquest in 1236, dedicated from its earliest times to the martyr Saint Lawrence.

For several decades now, it has been the church that hosts the most brotherhoods and, therefore, constitutes the center of the confraternity district that forms between the Alpargate Gardens and the Realejo.

The Titular Images

Our Father Jesus of the Calvary

The image of the Lord is the work of the Trinitarian friar Juan de la Concepción, created around 1723. Friar Juan trained in Granada and left numerous religious works.

The characteristics of the sculpture fully align with the early 18th century, where the Rococo aesthetic prevails, with delicate and intricate forms intended to move the viewer.

It is a dressed image, with articulated arms. He is shown standing, in a walking posture, with the left foot forward. The body, slightly leaning forward, turns the head to the right looking downward. The face, with rounded features, shows the signs of martyrdom, with a well-carved beard and hair, and slightly arched eyebrows that reveal a restrained expression of sorrow.

Our Father Jesus of the Calvary processes wearing a purple velvet tunic embroidered with gold thread, of elegant design. The cross is of arboreal type, with a detachable arm that facilitates its exit from the temple and golden alpaca fittings.

Two child angels support the cross on the side opposite the Lord, sculptures made by Enrique Ruiz Flores.

Our Lady of the Greatest Sorrow

The image of Our Lady of the Greatest Sorrow is the work of the sculptors Antonio Castillo Ariza and Francisco Díaz Jiménez, made around 1940.

It is a very expressive dolorosa, who lifts her gaze to the heavens imploring for the fate of her son. Her face is oval-shaped, with a fair complexion, and a slightly open mouth. From her wide-open eyes fall up to five tears that run down her cheeks.

It is a compositionally similar image to the Nazarene of the Church of the Hospital of Jesus Nazareno, which was the one initially venerated by the brotherhood, making it not unreasonable to think that Our Lady of the Greatest Sorrow was inspired by said image.

Nazarene Habit

Tunic, cape, and face covering in purple, with a purple and gold cincture.

Notable Insignia

• Guide Cross made of silver-plated alpaca by the Delgado Brothers in 1999, illuminated by lanterns from Hijos de Juan Fernández; banner embroidered in gold by Carmen Castro Parejo in 1999, with a pole by Hijos de Juan Fernández.