Hundreds of faithful have accompanied Esperanza Macarena since Monday morning in its reintegration into worship once the restoration process commissioned by the Macarena Brotherhood from Pedro Manzano was completed after the controversy aroused in July due to the work carried out on the image by Professor Francisco Arquillo.
The neighborhood’s response lived up to anticipated expectations with the return to the cult of María Santísima de la Esperanza Macarena. In anticipation of a large influx of faithful around the Basilica, the Brotherhood announced that from 6:00 this morning, the doors of the temple would open.
La Esperanza Macarena will be before the eyes of its faithful without interruption this Monday until 11:00 p.m. This is how the Virgin will also remain this Tuesday and Wednesday, days 9 and 10, although in this case the hours are limited to between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., as the Brotherhood reports on its website.
The Brotherhood of the Macarena clarified that the brothers and the faithful will have two modes of access to the Basilica. In the case of those who wish to pass through the Esperanza Macarena and perform a meditation, they will enter through the door located to the right of the atrium fence and follow the usual route in the kisses. They will exit through the door of the Basilica gift shop.
For the faithful who do not wish to stand in front of the image, they will freely access the Basilica through the main door and will be placed in a large space in the center of the temple and there they will be able to contemplate Mary Most Holy of Hope.
People with reduced mobility will have preferential access, for which they will have to report to security personnel, who will tell them how to get to the Macarena.
The restaurant owner’s letter
The Macarena Brotherhood published on its website a letter from the restorer of the image of the Virgin. Pedro Manzano assures in this text that “having served Esperanza Macarena has been a professional and human honor that I will hardly be able to forget”, while admitting to having understood “immediately the scale of the challenge and the responsibility entrusted to me”.
“During this time, every day in front of the image has been an act of deep commitment,” continued to explain the restorer, who also said that he had tried “with the greatest possible sensitivity to restore its devotional integrity and to return to it that look that so many people recognize as refuge, consolation and promise.”
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