The Three Marys form a group of female characters in the Verges Procession, associated with sorrow and support for the mother of Jesus. Understanding this group requires a distinction between names used in Christian tradition and the characters in the Verges theatrical text.
Which Marys appear in the Verges script?
The 2011 edition identifies Mary, the mother of Jesus, Maria Salomé and Maria Jacobé in the encounter scene. This is the composition used here to explain the theatrical group: the Virgin Mary belongs to it, rather than being a fourth figure added to three other women.
The name “Three Marys” has other uses in Christian tradition. It would therefore be incorrect to automatically replace the Verges characters with Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas and Mary Salome, or to attribute a scene at the tomb or an announcement of the Resurrection to this local passage, which does not portray either event.
The mother’s grief and words of comfort
The published dialogue shows the two companions trying to encourage Mary. Maria Salomé asks her to show courage; Maria Jacobé shares their sorrow. The mother responds with the anguish of seeing Jesus walk towards his death.
These lines give the group a voice. Their function extends beyond visually accompanying the procession: they support the mother and express a shared experience of suffering. This dialogue should be distinguished from the verses addressed to the Daughters of Jerusalem in another episode of the script.
Maria Ruart Ribas’s recollection
Maria Ruart Ribas remembers taking part in the Three Marys when she was fourteen. She explains that Carles Perpinyà came to find her a few days before Maundy Thursday and asked her to find two companions to complete the group. Her account shows how a scene could depend on the participants’ availability and relationships.
This is a particular episode of recruitment, not proof of a permanent shortage of actresses. We have not included the names of the other participants who cannot yet be identified with confidence.
A role passed between women
Mercè Roviras Bofill and Maite Poch Roviras recall changes in the performers’ ages and selection through their own experiences. Read together, their accounts reveal a changing cast. They cannot establish every year, every actress or a permanent rule about age.
The group’s continuity is better understood by recognising both the characters and the women who played them. Their work connects with the Virgin Mary and the history of the texts.
Sources
La Processó de Verges, 2011 edition, encounter scene, particularly pp. 105–106. Interviews with Maria Ruart Ribas, Mercè Roviras Bofill and Maite Poch Roviras in the Memòria Viva La Processó project, analysed as part of this research.
