Thursday, August 31, 2023, 8:45 p.m.
The city of Murcia was prepared to receive, after 7:30 p.m. this Thursday, its Patron Saint, the Virgen de la Fuensanta, who came down from her sanctuary on the mountain to experience the September Fair with her faithful from the Cathedral, as is tradition command. The intense heat of the afternoon did not prevent the presence of numerous devotees and visitors, some who had accompanied her from Algezares, more than any other year, according to the pilgrims, and others who received her in the church of El Carmen with cheers of ‘¡Guapa! , beautiful, beautiful!’, applause, ‘cheers’ and emotion in abundance.
La Morenica, as she is affectionately known in Murcia, wore for the occasion a multicolored cloak with embroidered flowers from the 60s that she had not worn for half a century. In the church of Carmen she was awaited by the institutional delegation, which from there accompanied her to the Cathedral of Murcia, the end of the journey. Among the novelties of this year, the Patron Saint of Murcia was received by the Discantus Choir, in the Puente Viejo building, with the interpretation of the hymn of the Coronation of the Virgin, an act that caused not a few tears among the attendees, led by the emotion.
When crossing the bridge, Fuensanta passed through a portico made up of more than 7,000 floral elements, a recreation of the classic arches with modernist overtones that once embellished the city during the Fair.
It was upon reaching Calle Arenal, which leads from the Glorieta to Plaza Cardenal Belluga, when a shower of petals from 15,000 roses almost completely covered it. From there, the procession continued to Plaza de la Cruz, where the Virgen de la Fuensanta entered the cathedral this year, due to the scaffolding installed on the facade of the Cathedral for its upcoming rehabilitation.
Among the thousands of faithful to the Patron Saint, the sisters María José, Julia, Manoli and her friend Pilar accompanied her from her sanctuary in Algezares. “We do not miss any pilgrimage, neither going down nor going up because we have a lot to thank him for,” they explained and acknowledged that they do not need to make any request to the image either. Very moved, they thanked the Virgin “for leaving her house to be with us.”
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