Live the essence of the Passions in Catalonia 2023

The beginning of Lent is accompanied by some of the Catalan towns with a dramatic staging that has been performed throughout Europe since the Middle Ages: the Passions. These can normally be seen until after Easter.

The popular and traditional manifestations of the Cycle of the Passion include a multitude of forms, not strictly liturgical, that recall during the Holy Week festivities the evangelical episodes referring to the public life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The current Passions derive, in their most remote origin, from the readings of the Passion that are made on Good Friday.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Passions were more in the form of processions with specific representations of certain scenes, a combination that is still practiced in many Catalan towns. Later, with the development of forms of profane theater, they began to acquire a structure of more complex representations and, already in the 18th century, they became theatrical pieces in acts, of long duration, with stable texts. At this time they are consolidated as shows that are represented in the square or in large public or semi-public spaces, already destined for the theater

Processions, parades of armed men or manaies, mysteries or monuments, representations of different orders (spoken dances, paintings or static scenes, historical reenactments...) and Passions of very diverse magnitude and perspective are held throughout Catalonia: from the most traditional, still incorporated in processions; going through those that adopt current texts, characters and perspectives; until reaching the great Passions, which put on massive shows in large theaters.

When are the Passions celebrated in Catalonia in 2023?

The season of Passions in Catalonia begins with Lent, on Ash Wednesday (February 22, 2023), and we find different representations until May 1. Most of the representations of Passions are concentrated around Holy Week (from Sunday, April 2 to Sunday, April 9, 2023).

Below you will find the main Passions of Catalonia scheduled for 2023.