The Crucifixion is the most poignant moment of the Maundy Thursday celebrations, marking the climax of the Verges Procession Crucifixion scene. After the long journey through the streets, the entourage arrives at The Little Square, next to the church, to witness the final act of the Passion.
The live Crucifixion of 1980
The live Crucifixion of this new period was performed in 1980, directed by Jordi Roca i Rovira, with Aureli Serra playing Jesus. The report in Los Sitios dated 6 April 1980 confirms that the scene had been performed in the early hours of Good Friday. The book La Processó de Verges. Text de l’obra (2011) also dates the reworking of the tableau to 1980. We therefore use that date, although Serrà and Aureli’s later recollection place the change in 1981.
This does not mean it was the first Crucifixion in the entire history of Verges. In his introductory study of 2011, Roca explains that he had found references to an old scene that had disappeared and for which no sufficiently precise description survived. To prepare the new tableau, references to that earlier performance were sought, and the memories of veteran actors who still retained some verses were also drawn upon.
This oral transmission yielded several verses, including those of the Soldier’s Repentance, which were incorporated into the conclusion. The renewal thus combined research, oral transmission and a new approach to staging. This story is part of the history of versions and authorship of the Procession’s texts.
Aureli Serra and the cross from Can Carolà
In his interview for the Memòria Viva La Processó project, Aureli Serra recalls advocating a live Crucifixion before the change of director. According to his account, the proposal had met with reservations and, when Jordi Roca took over, he raised it with him again. This testimony explains how Aureli experienced the process; it does not establish that the initiative was his alone or reconstruct the Patronat’s decisions without further documents.
Aureli also recalls that Jordi Roca commissioned the cross from Can Carolà, the village carpentry workshop. We retain this information as an attributed recollection. The workshop’s name does not, by itself, identify the person who made the cross.
The Staging of the Verges Procession Crucifixion
The account of the texts and the order of the concluding scenes uses the 2011 edition as its reference. This version documents a period in the performance’s history and should not automatically be taken as the script of every later edition.
While The Manages (the Roman guards) take their positions around the stage, The Jews surround Jesus. There are no distractions here; all attention is focused on the cross being raised over the prepared hole. Following the script, it is The Jews themselves who swiftly order the execution:
“In it, we will raise the cross, ensuring we are careful, and between two criminals, we will nail our God!”
It is important to note that despite the mention of “two criminals,” the visual focus in The Little Square of Verges is solely on the central cross of Jesus, which stands alone in this intimate corner.
The concluding text and Mary’s farewell
The script published in 2011 presents the tableau in six scenes: the Crucifixion, the Raising of the Cross, the Casting of Lots for the Tunic, Mary’s Farewell, the Soldiers’ Dialogue and the Descent from the Cross. The trumpeter reads the sentence, and the repentance of one of the tormentors introduces a change of tone after the mockery.
In Mary’s Farewell, the Virgin approaches the cross accompanied by Mary Jacobé and Mary Salome. Her lament gives voice to sorrow and hope for the resurrection. It is followed by the Stabat Mater. Roca attributes this lament to Maria Perpinyà in his introductory study.
The sequence continues with the dialogue between the captain and the centurion, before the cross is left alone and the Descent begins. This is the order set out in the 2011 text; the words and actions of one edition should not be assumed to apply to all others without verification.
The Descent from the Cross
Once Jesus is dead, the stage is cleared of The Jews, and the atmosphere shifts. Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Saint John, and the Virgin Mary appear with the tools for the Descent from the Cross (a ladder, a shroud, a hammer, and pincers).
With extreme care, they lower the body and place it in his mother’s lap, who covers it with her cloak. This is the moment of the Pietà, a scene of artistic beauty that reminds us that in Verges, tragedy is told with heartfelt emotion.
Oral memory also contributes practical knowledge of this scene. Pere Fuster recalls that Aureli trusted him and Martí to lower him from the cross. According to his testimony, the body had to descend at the same pace on both sides. This recollection shows the trust and coordination needed for that Descent, without constituting a description of present practice or identifying Martí beyond the information in the interview.
The Finale in Verges: The Dance of Death’s Adoration
In the 2011 text, the tableau ends with the figure of the Pietà and the homage of the Dance of Death. The book interprets this gesture within the Christian meaning of redemption and victory over death. This conclusion to the scene in the Little Square is distinct from the Surrender of Death inside the church.
Sources and testimonies
La Processó de Verges. Text de l’obra (2011): Jordi Roca’s introductory study, pp. 12–13 and 19; note preceding the script on the reworking of 1980; tableau ‘La Crucifixió i el Davallament’, pp. 133–141.
Contemporary press: ‘Verges representó la Pasión y Muerte de Cristo’, Los Sitios, 6 April 1980, p. 7. Comparison of dates: Màriam Serrà, Verges i la Processó que no es veu (1998), p. 104.
Interviews with Aureli Serra and Pere Fuster for the Memòria Viva La Processó project, analysed as part of this research. Recollections of the proposal, the commissioning of the cross and the technique of the Descent remain attributed to their witnesses.
