Holy Saturday in Verges belongs to the children. Two days after the great night, the Processó dels Petits, or Children’s Procession, brings the Passion back to the streets with fewer performers and a shorter route. It gives children a way to make their own a celebration they have watched the adults prepare and perform.
The Children’s Procession
The performance begins in the square and continues through the streets. Characters, lines and gestures from the Maundy Thursday Procession reappear, adapted to what the children can do. In Màriam Serrà’s 1996 account, the children’s Dance has six members, without the adult group’s four torchbearers.
In her 1996 account, Màriam Serrà describes the young manages, the Roman soldiers, wearing red tracksuit trousers. It captures the spirit of the day: children copying the adults with whatever they have to hand, taking it all very seriously. Costumes and other details may change over the years.
This is more than a smaller version of the celebration. It is where children learn to speak before an audience, keep time and take on a shared responsibility. The Procession is passed on at close quarters, with support from families and the example of older participants.
A day of waiting; a night of Easter
In the Catholic calendar, Holy Saturday recalls Jesus in the tomb. During the day, before the Easter Vigil, Mass is not celebrated. It is a time of silence and waiting within the Easter Triduum.
At night, the Easter Vigil opens the celebration of the Resurrection. The daytime observance and the night-time celebration should therefore be distinguished: the Vigil does include the Eucharist and already belongs to Easter. Simply saying that there is no Mass on Saturday would be misleading.
The traditional Catalan name “Dissabte de Glòria”, literally “Saturday of Glory”, remains associated with this day. In this guide it sits alongside Holy Saturday, without confusing it with Easter Sunday.
Planning your visit
The Children’s Procession is usually held on Holy Saturday afternoon. Check the programme for each edition to confirm the time and route. For the Vigil and other religious services, follow parish announcements and information from the Diocese of Girona: locations and times may change each year.
Explore the other days in the day-by-day Holy Week guide.
Group meals and caramelles
In her account of Holy Week in 1996, Serrà describes participants sharing meals before the Children’s Procession. These group and family gatherings were distinct from the communal rice meal on Easter Monday. The celebration also continued around the table, beyond the performances.
Serrà also records the caramelles, Easter songs that young people sang in the streets and houses that night after the Vigil. She describes recovering repertoire with scores and veteran singers. This is another form of local transmission, separate from the children’s performance and the meals; the 1996 timetable is not a current event announcement.
Sources and context
Màriam Serrà, Verges i la processó que no es veu (1998), pp. 138–144; account of the Procession observed in 1996.
