The festivity of Corpus Christi , promoted by Sister Juliana de Mont-Cornillón and instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264, forms part of a time-honoured tradition in Toledo. Over the past eight centuries it has come to be considered as the most important and socially represented festival in the city of Toledo. Tradition, culture and religion at this time are all in perfect agreement.
The celebration falls on the Sunday of the ninth week after Easter Sunday, generally between the end of May and the beginning of June.
The festive atmosphere that begins some days before the main event gets everyone excited. Many streets along the route are covered with white awnings which protect the monstrance.
Fairy-lights, garlands, forges, stained glass windows and other traditional objects help to build the excitement of the festival. These streets are also draped with rich tapestries hung from the windows and balconies. The city then becomes an extension of the Cathedral and the streets are like an outdoor temple.
The day before the event the ground is covered with flowers and fragrant herbs like rosemary, thyme or lavender. They make a great aromatic carpet. All is now ready to celebrate Corpus Christi.
On Habeas Sunday, the Monstrance which is the focal point of the Corpus Christi celebration, leaves the Cathedral protected by silent guards of old brotherhoods, knights, and guilds and is courted by the crowd that moves through the scented medieval streets.
The intense fragrance of burned incense is fused with the perfume from the fragrant herbs and petals that are thrown allow the path of the Monstrance.
The sound of canticles and music are joined together to create a unique atmosphere and flood Toledo in a memorable scene where aromas, sounds and colours vie to over take the city.
It is the only day in the year when the monumental and rich monstrance, the procession's heart that is normally displayed in the Cathedral Museum, is taken out and paraded through the town.
The interior of the Monstrance, one of the most exquisite jewels of Christianity, was made with the first gold brought from America. A second exterior monstrance, made in silver and later bathed in gold, protects the first one. To this gold and silver, pearls and gems are affixed and it is in the design of a Gothic tower.
During the walk, the “tarasca” (or dragon sculpture) and the giant masks, brotherhoods, guilds, knights and music bands follow the Chalice, that does not stop being bathed by rose petals. The procession passes through the main streets of historical Toledo and returns to the Cathedral, its original point of departure.
This solemn celebration, declared as an International Tourist Interest, is complemented with several more events and activities, which is a reason why one of its popular names is “Great Week”. In short, Corpus Christi in Toledo is an unique experience that is worth living and enjoying with intensity.
- more information at www.corpuschristitoledo.es
