Écija will have a new procession in 2026 with a very interesting image that is venerated in the parish of Nuestra Señora del Carmen throughout the year alongside Soledad, Quinta Angustia or María Auxiliadora. It’s about Christ … de las Penas, a sculpture attributed to Alonso de Mena, half-length and with characteristics of the best Andalusian Baroque that can still be seen in many temples of the autonomous community.
The Lord of Sorrows owns a group which also has as its images the Christ of the Three Falls and the Virgin of Health. Usually it is found in a small altarpiece in the parish of Carmen and on the pedestal, The date of 1644 is chosen as the date of creation of this work in which Jesus looks at the sky before undergoing the crucifixion.
He wears a crown of thorns, powers, and a rope around his neck as he clasps his hands in a pleading gesture. Some research brings him closer to the sculptor mentioned above, father of Pedro de Mena, due to certain similarities with the Christ of the Column of Priego de Córdoba, the Christ of Desamparo of the Church of San José in Madrid or the crucified of the Cathedral of Málaga.
The expressive force of the Lord of Sorrows of Écija stands out and the proximity with which the faithful can see the sculpture on the altar and in the services dedicated to it by the parish group. It already has a street in the municipality, it is the patron saint of the Civil Protection group and it is one of the main novelties of the Holy Week of Astigitana of 2026 since there is curiosity to know how it will be observed in a stage after seeing it on some small platforms for the Stations of the Cross that the members of the corporation do during Lent.
Our Father Jesus of the Sorrows of Écija
Alonso de Mena is part of the Granada school of sculpture because learned with Pablo de Rojas and his son, is one of the greatest representatives of Andalusian and Spanish Baroque with works preserved in national and international museums. His “Ecce Homo” and his doloras are very recognizable and studied by art historians.
In 2022, he went out for the first time on the Stations of the Cross and according to what was recorded among the parishioners of Carmen, there is no trace, neither in memory nor in archives, that Christ ever went out before the year mentioned above. That is why the next Holy Week will take place a very interesting event with this mid-17th century sculpture located in the heart of Écija.
About The Author
