The church of the Anunciación in Palma is also known as the Església de la Sang. The church was built between 1487 and 1499 to accompany the Hospital General next door. The very popular church is distinguished for its Renaissance altar, dating from the 15th century, its Gothic Belén (nativity scene), dating from the 16th century, and its splendid Barroque chapel, housing the venerated Sant Crist de la Sang, dating from the 17th century. The Christ figure is made of wood from the cork oak. Nowadays, the crucified figure is usually presented behind safety glass, but once a year at Easter time, the Crist de la Sang is taken from the shrine and instead, is presented in front of the altar, as was the case yesterday (see photo). Today, Jueves Santo, the Crist de la Sang will be heading the Procesión de la Sangre, all the way from the Església de la Anunciació to La Seu, the Cathedral. During one such Maundy Thursday procession, in 2002, this Christ statue was attacked by an imbecile of an unsound mind and was severely damaged. Hence, after an extensive and costly restoration, the statue was safely put behind protective glass.

The Església de la Sang is also famous for housing the Crist dels Condemnats a Mort, but I’ll leave that for another day and another blog entry.

The Procesión de la Sangre or Processó de la Sang will commence tonight at 19h00. The Crist de la Sang figure is usually carried by a single person, doubtlessly a tricky task. Let’s hope there will be no further mishaps. For the occasion of this procession, the main portal of the Cathedral will be opened tonight.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 31st, 2010. The time was 14:52:06.