The sound of hundreds of rockets and hundreds of meters of firecrackers accompanied the image of the Niño del Balate in the pilgrimage of his descent from the sanctuary of Balate to the Monastery of La Encarnación in Mula. Thousands of pilgrims followed the sacred image, from 5:35 p.m., along the RM-516 regional highway, from the district of El Niño to the San Felipe neighborhood of the city of Mula, which received the sacred image at 8:00 p.m.
The urn that protects the image, made of wood and glass, was covered on its upper part by bunches of basil that the parishioners placed on it along the way, as well as several dozen white doves that were released into flight at the entrance to the neighborhood. of San Felipe. Upon his arrival in Mula, the municipal and ecclesiastical authorities received the Child, who was taken in a procession through the streets of the town to the Monastery of La Encarnación among rose petals and balloons, and for the first time the current residents of the convent, the Eucharistic Communicator Sisters of the Heavenly Father. In this monastery it will remain until the 11th, when at 7:00 p.m. it is transferred to the Santo Domingo de Guzmán temple, where it will remain until September 21, the festival of the Niño del Balate.
The Local Police and Civil Guard prepared a special security device, with around fifty troops, with civil protection volunteers from the SEN, firefighters and health teams, given the large number of parishioners who accompanied the sacred image. Traffic on the highway was cut off for an hour and a half due to the pilgrimage, so vehicle drivers had to take the Río Mula Northwest highway to travel to towns in the Northwest and vice versa.
In the temple of the Real Monasterio de la Encarnación, on September 10, a special program will begin for the 375th anniversary of the appearance of the Child in the Balate area, with the inaugural mass at 10:30 a.m., which will be presided over by the Bishop of Zamora Fernando Valera. From five in the afternoon until nine at night, the Solemn Kissing of the Divine Child will take place.
On September 11, the image will be taken to the Iglesia Mayor de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. During the following nine days, the novena will be celebrated daily at 8:00 p.m.
The only nocturnal pilgrimage in Spain
On the night of September 20, the traditional Children’s Pilgrimage will take place, featuring citizens from various towns in the Region of Murcia.
A special security device has been prepared to care for pilgrims on the road, which will be made up of the Civil Guard, Local Police and Civil Protection of the towns from where the pilgrims will leave, as well as medical assistance. The temple of Santo Domingo, where the image of the Child will be found, will remain open all morning to receive and serve the parishioners. This pilgrimage arose spontaneously and individually more than a century ago.
It is a devotional pilgrimage and not a pilgrimage, which can be done on foot or by bicycle, departing from different parts of the Region. Municipalities in the regions of Valle de Ricote, Vega Alta and Media del Segura, Noroeste, Murcia and Campo Cartagena have starting points. The participants will march along the roads of Archena, Ceutí and Alguazas, as well as the Vía Verde, in the cases of the towns of the Northwest and the region of the Mula River. The pilgrims will walk about 30 kilometers.
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