Worshippers carry an image of the Holy Christ of the Blood inside the Santa Maria del Pi church after a procession asking for rain through the streets of downtown Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 9, 2024. A religious procession organised by the Brotherhoods of the Archdiocese of Barcelona marched through the city downtown asking for rain coinciding with the rainiest day of the year. Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia declared a drought emergency for the area of around 6 million people including the city of Barcelona. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Worshippers carry an image of the Holy Christ of the Blood inside the Santa Maria del Pi church after a procession asking for rain through the streets of downtown Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 9, 2024. A religious procession organised by the Brotherhoods of the Archdiocese of Barcelona marched through the city downtown asking for rain coinciding with the rainiest day of the year. Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia declared a drought emergency for the area of around 6 million people including the city of Barcelona. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
EMBARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A religious procession in downtown Barcelona celebrated the appearance of long-awaited rain, after nine days of praying for relief from a severe drought.
Around 100 local people took part in the Catholic ceremony on a rainy Saturday evening.
They carried the figure of the Holy Christ of the Blood, winding their way through the city’s old town for two hours led by Archbishop Joan Josep Omella.
“There are few of us, but it’s OK,” Omella said inside the Santa Maria del Pi, a 15th-century Gothic church, just before leaving, while outside the rain poured down.
Last month, officials in Spain’s northeast region of Catalonia, whose main city is Barcelona, declared a . Reservoirs serving 6 million people were at less than 16% of their capacity, a historic low that .
The last time the figure of the Holy Christ, depicting Jesus on the cross, had left the chapel of Sant Miquel to help fight drought was in 1945.
At one point during the procession, the figure was draped in transparent plastic to keep the rain off.
The ɫtv Press. All rights reserved.
Get the latest from ɫtvNews in your inbox. Select the emails you're interested in below.
It’s a little-known fact that Canada’s credit unions are among the country’s stron…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
