The Brotherhood of Our Lady of Solitude of Santa Maria and the Brotherhood of the Blessed Christ of Souls and Saint Peter the Apostle, based at the Basilica of Santa Maria, unveiled the Official Sancta Maria Book in conjunction with Alicante’s Holy Week 2024. The event took place on Thursday, March 14, in the conference room of the Gil-Albert Institute for Cultural Studies, drawing members of the brotherhoods as well as municipal authorities. The presentation was led by Cristina Martínez Álvarez, director of the Institute, together with Dr. José Iborra Torregrosa, director of the Official Sancta Maria Book.
The publication is a serious and meticulously crafted volume of just over 240 color pages. It serves not only as a primary channel of communication among members but also as a resource for researching, recovering, and presenting the cultural heritage preserved by these emblematic brotherhoods that open and close Alicante’s Passion Processions. The new edition is a monograph dedicated entirely to the unique artistic, iconographic, and devotional aspects of the ancient image of the Blessed Christ of Souls, created in 1735 by the Alicante sculptor Bautista Vera Morelló. This figure has been adapted for procession in the Palm Sunday parade, a role it has performed for the past year since its first appearance in Holy Week.
The work stands as an exhaustively researched study, tracing the biographical and sculptural facets of one of the most prominent figures in Alicante’s Baroque imaginerie. Among the most notable sculptural ensembles housed in the Basilica of Santa Maria is the crucified Christ carved in wood and polychrome in 1735 by the Alicante master Bautista Vera Morelló. This substantial and strikingly naturalistic Baroque carving is highlighted as a superb example of the era’s artistry.
A pair of related sections follow the scientific contributions, tying to two historical events experienced by the brotherhoods during the last season. The first section, Sapere Aude, delves into the reception of a relic Ex indumentis of the blessed beato Francisco Castelló, sent by the Canonization Commission of the Diocese of Lleida. The second, Encarte, is devoted to the written and visual memory of three key moments around the revered image of the Blessed Christ of Souls: its enthronement, the Way of the Cross, and the first Holy Week procession appearance in Alicante.
The publication closes with a schedule of cultural and social activities organized for the current chapter of the brotherhoods. The project is described by the area head of culture as a meticulously prepared volume that marks the end of one era and the opening of a path for future generations to understand, value, and safeguard Alicante’s cultural patrimony.