Graça Procession of the Lord of the Passion

What it is

A procession here means a slow, public walk of prayer through the streets. This one belongs to Lent, the forty days before Easter, and it takes its shape from the Via Dolorosa, the road Jesus is said to have walked to his death in Jerusalem. The walkers follow a set route and halt seven times. Each halt is called a station, and each one is tied to a church, a chapel or a spot on the street. These stops are not silent pauses only: they carry the whole event.

Origins and history

In 1587 a court painter named Luís Álvares de Andrade, who lived from about 1550 to 1631, set up a brotherhood devoted to the True Cross. As its members grew in number and standing, the group took up a yearly walk that let people follow the stages of the Passion in their minds. A chronicler, Fr. Jorge Cardoso, writes in his Agiológio Lusitano that Miguel de Castro, then Archbishop of Lisbon, worked with Luís Álvares to fix the route and choose the halting places.

The seven stops

It starts at Saint Roch's, in the quarter called Bairro Alto. It finishes at the old convent of Graça, up in São Vicente. Between them come the Church of the Incarnation, where Jesus is remembered falling under the cross; the Church of Saint Dominic, where he meets his mother and a figure of Our Lady of Solitude is brought out to travel with the walkers; the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Health, for the meeting with the women of Jerusalem; Largo do Terreirinho, where Veronica wipes his face; and the birthplace of Saint John de Britto on Calçada de Santo André, where Simon of Cyrene lends a hand. The last station, at the convent, recalls the nailing, the death and the burial.

Route cut, then restored

After the revolution of 5 October 1910, and through the years of an anticlerical republic, the walk was cut back. From then until 2013 it stayed inside the parish of Graça, apart from 1987, when the brotherhood marked four hundred years. The longer route came back in 2013, following a period in which the brotherhood was working to rebuild its membership. Walkers again covered the ground between Saint Roch's church and the Graça convent.

Pandemic year and chapel

In 2021 the procession fell on 28 February. For the first time in 434 years the public could not attend. On advice from Portugal's bishops' conference, the brotherhood's board arranged a small ceremony instead, led by Américo Aguiar, an auxiliary bishop who also carries the title Bishop of Dagnum. It went out over radio and the internet, and the customary blessing of the city closed it. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal's head of state, was among the few people allowed in. Meanwhile the Santo André chapel, lost in 1912, had been bought back in 2019 and restored; Cardinal Manuel Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, unveiled it on 8 March 2020, with a new painting by João de Sousa Araújo.

How Graça Procession of the Lord of the Passion is kept

The brotherhood's members and any of the faithful who join them gather on the second Sunday of Lent. They set out from Saint Roch's church and walk in a solemn line through the streets toward the Graça convent. Seven times the line halts, once at each station, and the Passion moment tied to that place is recalled. At Saint Dominic's, a figure of Our Lady of Solitude is brought out and carried along with the group. The walk ends at the convent with the last station, and the city receives a blessing.

When and where

The walk falls on the second Sunday of Lent, so its date shifts each year with the church calendar. It has been held every year since 1587 without a break. In 2021 it would have fallen on 28 February, but the public could not attend that year.

It belongs to Lisbon, in Portugal, and has never moved away from the city. The route crosses two old quarters, Bairro Alto and São Vicente, and passes through the Graça area, home of the brotherhood.

What Graça Procession of the Lord of the Passion means

For those who take part, the walk is a way of following in thought the road Jesus walked to his death. Seven halts break the journey so that each part of the story can be held for a while. The blessing given over Lisbon at the close turns the procession outward, asking protection for the whole city and not only for the people walking.

Questions people ask about Graça Procession of the Lord of the Passion

See also

Camino de SantiagoA Christian walking pilgrimage across Europe to the shrine of Saint James in SpainMidnight MassThe first service of Christmas, kept late on Christmas Eve in many Western churchesFeast of the Sacred HeartA Catholic holy day honoring Christ's love and mercy, observed in early summerCompadreA ritual kinship made at a child's baptism, binding parents and godparents for life

Good reading and sources

• Procession of Our Lord of the Passion of Graça on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-10.