Full churches, street processions to mark Easter in Quito after 2 years

Quito, Apr 1 (EFE).- Packed churches and street processions will once again mark Easter in Quito after a two-year gap in public events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After the removal of capacity limits imposed to reduce the transmission of Covid-19, the Ecuadorian capital began decorating its old town, which will be at the center of Easter celebrations with hundreds of thousands of visitors – both national and international.

The events will begin on Palm Sunday with a procession from the Basilica of the National Vow to the Church and Convent of Saint Francis, and will continue on Holy Tuesday with the procession of andas in the city’s Puellaro area.

Holy Wednesday will be one of the most special days and the Arrastre de Caudas will be celebrated again in the Cathedral of Quito, the world’s only one to preserve this tradition since its arrival in the country from Spain in the 16th century.

“We still preserve it here, and it is an honor and a privilege for the Primate Archdiocese of Quito, because we, as Christians, experience it in a very profound way,” Father Jose Asimballa, one of the canons, told foreign media Friday.

In this ritual, the archbishop of Quito and his canons will perform a procession inside the cathedral in which they carry heavy black cloaks almost two meters long or “caudas” symbolizing the sins of the world on their backs.

After completing the ritual, the canons, who are the Quito church’s oldest clergy, will prostrate in front of the main altar while the archbishop waves a large black flag with a red cross to symbolically transmit the virtues of Jesus Christ. EFE

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