Editorial photo #1898667 Religion and Belief

Holy week in Bogota

Pilgrimages and processions are still an essential part of Holy Week in Bogota, Colombia, on 14 April, 2017. Commercial exploits of the Catholic holiday have yet to manifest here – the Easter egg and Easter bunny are unquestionably overseas customs. In Colombia, as in most countries in Latin-America, Catholicism is by far the prevailing creed among the local population. A lot of people will be attending religious services during the holy days. Some communities would have invested a lot time and effort preparing for the special celebrations of the Holy Week, and in particular for the processions taking place on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Many churches in La Candelaria have carried out these processions for centuries and they are quite interesting to watch, even if you are not catholic. One of the most famous Good Friday celebrations in Bogota takes place in the parish of ‘Nuetra Señora de Egipto´ (a few blocks east from La Candelaria) where local parishioners give life to the characters of the Gospel and enact the last hours of Jesus before the crucifixion. (Photo by Juan Torres/NurPhoto)