This year 2023 marks 300 years since the patron saint of Cartagena, the Virgen de la Caridad, arrived in the city. For this reason, to commemorate the anniversary, different religious events have been organised in the city, which will take place throughout the year.
Just a few hours before Friday of Sorrows, and before the start of «the most beloved of our traditions», Holy Week, which begins this morning with «the first procession in Spain», the mayoress, Noelia Arroyo, presented the commemorative events and the commemorative poster. Also present were the elder brother of the Junta de Gobierno del Santo y Real Hospital de Caridad, Pepe Vera, and the designer of the poster, Pedro Diego Pérez Casanova.
As the main event in the programme, «the Virgen de la Caridad will take to the streets on the morning of Sunday 23 April», explained Arroyo, who «will be taken in procession from the basilica to the esplanade of the port, where a mass will be celebrated by the Bishop of Cartagena».
Around 70 people will carry the throne, with around 20 relays. The procession will start at the Basilica of La Caridad and will go through the streets of Cartagena up to Calle del Cañón, passing through the Town Hall square, to reach the esplanade of the port.
A celebration in which Cartagenerans and visitors will be able to participate, and which will be broadcast throughout Spain, as well as on the internet.
The poster, created by Pedro Diego Pérez Casanova, features the image of the Virgen de la Caridad, accompanied by two very typical elements of the city, the dome of the Basílica de la Caridad, and the two lighthouses that open Cartagena to the sea.
With the image made by the artist, commemorative posters and scapulars have been designed, which will be sold, for the benefit of the great project of the Hospital, in confraternities and in the chapel at a price of 10 €. Tomorrow, Friday 31 March, a stall will be set up in the basilica throughout the day.
The rest of the programme will take place in the last quarter of the year 2023, between October and December, to be presented at a later date.