The Delegate of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Madrid City Council, Marta Rivera de la Cruz, accompanied by the Councillor for the Central district, Carlos Segura, visited the headquarters of the Royal and Illustrious Congregation of Our Lady of Solitude and Helplessness. During her visit, she made a floral offering to the images, highlighting the importance of this celebration for the city.
“"It will be remembered for the devotion, interest, and joy with which Madrid residents and visitors have followed all the processions."
Rivera de la Cruz expressed her “satisfaction” with the development of a Holy Week that, in her words, “will be remembered” thanks to the large participation and the “good weather,” which she described as “the great ally of the processions.” She also emphasized the “beauty” and “depth” of the image of Our Lady of Solitude and Helplessness, an 18th-century work by Juan Pascual de Mena.
The Elder Brother of the Congregation, Luis Fernando López Perona, explained that the image of La Soledad features a jet mantle, a gift from Queen Isabel II. As a novelty, the Recumbent Christ, from the Olot Workshops of the 20th century, debuted a new float that improves its visibility, as it was previously loaned by the Basilica of Nuestro Padre Jesús de Medinaceli.
López Perona also highlighted the pioneering role of the Congregation in integrating women into the processions, being one of the first to allow them to carry the images. Currently, female presence is predominant in the float of the Recumbent Christ, where “there are two men,” but “the rest are all women,” demonstrating the normality with which the Congregation embraces this participation.
