From today onwards, the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz becomes the great gateway for pilgrims and tourists to the Region of Murcia. The arrival of thousands of groups of visitors will transform the appearance of the most central streets and squares, especially those closest to the church of El Salvador, where the Jubilee Station will be celebrated every day, and those of the medieval neighborhood that surrounds the Caravaca castle. where the Basilica of the True Cross stands. The jubilee celebrations will take place there in which the pilgrims will participate. More than a million will pass through the city in the coming months on the occasion of the Jubilee Year, according to the regional government's forecasts.
To know more
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Parking lots
For those who decide to visit the city today, it is advisable to use the park and ride facilities on Mayrena Street, Pabellón Street and in the vicinity of the El Salvador sports complex. -
Traffic
Private vehicle traffic to the Vera Cruz Basilica will be allowed this Sunday until 10 in the morning, but no parking spaces have been enabled, except for authorities and vehicles of Civil Protection and State Security Forces and Bodies. The rest of the vehicles will have to go to other parking areas, such as those mentioned above. -
Reduced mobility
For people with reduced mobility, Civil Protection and the Red Cross will have at their disposal (between 10 and 10:30 am) adapted vehicles to reach the basilica. The transfer will be made from the Puente Uribe area. -
Tourist train
Another way to get to the Vera Cruz Basilica is by using the tourist train enabled for the occasion, which will operate between 10 and 10:30 in the morning to transport visitors, although with a reduced capacity.
From the Camino de la Cruz Foundation, which brings together public-private collaboration, extraordinary actions have been carried out to improve infrastructure, such as the new access from the San Jerónimo ravine that provides greater security and makes the arrival of the pilgrim; Work is being completed on the new pilgrim welcome center in the Uribe palace, which also houses the Festival Museum and the tourist office, a project that is part of the tourism sustainability plan, endowed with European and municipal funds. which will involve carrying out around twenty actions in the urban area and in the districts. Among these actions is also the rehabilitation of the hermitage of San Sebastián de la Placeta del Santo, already carried out, and the recovery of the cellars of the House-Museum of the Caballos del Vino. This plan includes heritage conservation actions, the beautification of the historic center, visitor services and the creation of new green spaces.
The Brotherhood of Vera Cruz has been carrying out intense work that has been promoted much more in the last year with the celebration of the preparatory stage in which numerous actions have been carried out to implement everything necessary to be able to host to the pilgrims. In recent weeks, a new space for pilgrims has been inaugurated on the castle walls. In these facilities, pilgrims will be able to request the certificate that accredits the pilgrimage to the Vera Cruz de Caravaca, known as the 'caravacensis', as well as the diplomas for visiting the basilica; in addition to offering the possibility of acquiring different souvenirs.
The Eucharist, starting at twelve noon, will be officiated by the Archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo
The 'caravacensis' is the official certificate that certifies the pilgrimage on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, to the Basilica of the Most Holy and True Cross of Caravaca. The requirements to be able to obtain it are to have traveled at least 50 kilometers on foot or horseback, or 100 kilometers if the pilgrimage is carried out by bicycle.
At least one stamp per day must appear on the pilgrim's credential, in addition to the corresponding date of passage, and it is a requirement to obtain the certificate to have made a pilgrimage to the True Cross with a Christian sense or in an attitude of search, through the established itineraries. in value within the Camino de la Cruz de Caravaca. Pilgrims with reduced mobility can also obtain their 'caravacensis' by contacting the Brotherhood of the Vera Cruz in advance.
Program of the day
On this first Sunday in January, the activities scheduled for this day will begin at nine in the morning with the general ringing of bells from all the churches, convents and hermitages of the urban case and the districts, which will join this 'sound hallelujah' from the belfries of their temples. In unison, thousands of rockets will be fired from the castle esplanade that will explode to announce the start of this Jubilee (the fourth since its concession). Next, the Caravaca de la Cruz Musical Group will perform a musical parade that will begin in the Plaza del Arco to continue through Puentecilla, Calle de las Monjas, Calle Larga, Gregorio Javier, Vidrieras, Poeta Ibáñez, Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz , San Simón, Juan Carlos I and Gran Vía, before returning to the starting point.
The Camino de la Cruz Foundation has carried out different actions to improve access and services
In the Plaza del Arco, at ten thirty in the morning, the civil and military authorities will gather, and they will be received by the mayor, José Francisco García, and the older brother, Luis Melgarejo, who together with the episcopal delegate of the Jubilee Year , David Martínez, will begin the climb to the basilica with all the institutional guests. The temple will be open from early in the morning and spaces have been set up to follow the celebration both in the temple choir and in the cloister, where chairs and large television screens have been placed to follow the ceremony. The Eucharist, starting at twelve noon, will be officiated by the Archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo, and concelebrated by the Bishop of Cartagena, Lorca Planes, and several other bishops from different Spanish dioceses.
A volunteer places the flags on one of the castle's towers.
From Handel's 'The Messiah' to the 'Magna Urbe' exhibition
The parish of El Salvador will host this afternoon the concert of 'The Messiah', by Handel, by the Symphony Orchestra of the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM) and the Discantus Choir, which will begin at six in the afternoon, with Free access until capacity is reached. The UCAM Symphony Orchestra will perform under the baton of Pilar Vañó, along with the Discantus Chorale directed by Ángel Carrillo and the soloists Mariví Blasco, Inés Olabarria, Francisco J. Sánchez and Christopher Robertson. This concert is part of the special cultural programming that will take place throughout the year in Caravaca to commemorate the Jubilee thanks to the collaboration of the institutions and companies that are part of the Camino de la Cruz Foundation.
The cultural program has an extraordinary prologue with the exhibition 'Magna Urbe'. Since December 5, the old church of the Company of Jesus has exhibited the greatness of the artistic, historical and cultural legacy of Caravaca de la Cruz through a selection of paintings, sculptures, documents and other objects. The exhibition can be visited until February 18. The exhibition houses well-known works of local heritage that join other unpublished and hidden ones, and among which are gems such as the II Factory Book of the Company of Jesus, a unique document that was recovered by chance in a bookstore in Madrid, and which has been exhibited for the first time. This valuable bibliographic document allows us to know in detail the future of the Society of Jesus throughout a large part of its stay in the city of Caravaca, from 1592 to 1734. The exhibition covers the great artistic periods of the city such as the Renaissance and Baroque, to connect with contemporary art through the sculptor José Carrilero and the photography of Tomy Ceballos, in addition to the tribute to the sculptor Antonio Martínez Torres. Other works on display are the painting 'Saint Peter and Saint Paul' from the El Greco workshop; and the oil painting 'Appearance of the True Cross between Saint Félix and Saint Régula', dated 1680.
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