Sicily was for a long time under Spanish rule, and a Spanish tradition dating from the Inquisition has lived on at Enna. Each local church here sends out a group of its men, wearing the coloured robes of their church plus a pointed white hood. The idea is that these men are penitents and the hood is to nullify their identity and point their prayers to heaven. Their penitence takes the form of marching through the streets carrying a heavy float bearing the statue of their church’s saint.
These processions happened during Holy Week, so when we
arrived at Enna on Easter Saturday, the main spectacle was past. However, in Enna, there is a special
celebration on the evening of Easter Sunday. We joined the crowd of spectators
on the steps of the Duomo (cathedral).
We stood next to a woman who lived now in Trieste, but each
year returned to her old home and brought her children to watch the
processions. She spoke excellent English, and there was pride and affection in
her voice as she explained the tradition to us.
A statue of Jesus is marched down the hill by penitents, now
wearing their hoods rolled back. Another association of penitents carries Mary
up the hill. At the end, they break into a run as if Mary and Jesus are
thrilled to see one another again.
Once united, they are marched together down the hill. To
ensure it is not over too quickly, they march four steps forward, three steps
back, all the way to the west end of the Duomo (cathedral) and the ceremony
ends for another year with some of the crowd going for Mass in the Duomo.
Afterwards, we and the woman who had acted as our informal guide went our separate ways. However, whereas we are unlikely ever to see this again, I am certain she will return to her childhood home again next Easter to witness the parade.
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