In Noicattaro, in the province of Bari, during Holy Week the procession of the Crociferi takes place, one of the oldest in Puglia, full of pathos and intense religiosity. The crucifers (bearers of the cross) are men dressed in a long black habit that covers their body. The head and face are also hidden by a hood of the same color, which leaves only the eyes free.
On their heads they wear a crown of thorns, symbol of the pain suffered by Christ on the cross. The cross bearers walk barefoot carrying a wooden cross on their shoulders and stop in front of every church in the city. They enter each of them crossing the nave on their knees, up to the altar. Here the humeri are flagellated with an iron chain tied to the ankle. The celebration takes place every Holy Thursday.
The Holy Thursday procession
Before starting the Holy Thursday procession, a large bonfire is lit in the churchyard Church of the Madonna della Lama, which will burn for the entire duration of the Easter Triduum. It is a propitiatory rite linked to the land and the crops and it is the farmers themselves who during Lent accumulate the wood necessary to build the bonfire.
Around 20.30pm, the Crociferi move in procession carrying a heavy cross on their shoulders until they reach the altars of reposition set up in the churches, followed by the institutions and the faithful. Following the Crociferi this evening, in addition to the faithful, there will be representatives of the municipal council of Noicattaro and of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, together with the priest of the Parish of Santa Maria della Pace, Don Vito Campanelli.
The eldest crucifer (so considered based on the years accumulated in penance) is accompanied by a small crowd and children carrying torches and "trozzue" (rattles). At the end of the particularly spectacular ritual, the procession will return to the church of the Madonna della Lama.
Holy Friday and Holy Saturday: the “Naka”, the Addolorata and the Mysteries
In addition to the Crociferi procession, there are others that take place during Holy Week, in Noicattaro, all equally exciting and participatory. The Good Friday appointment is with the "Naka", name which indicates the cradle-shaped funerary sarcophagus in which the statue of the dead Christ is placed.
This procession takes place at a slow and alternating pace, to create a lulling gait. The procession always starts from the Church of the Lama and winds along Corso Roma and Piazza Umberto. In the late night between Friday and Holy Saturday, around 2am, the long procession of the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows also takes place. The procession always moves from the Mother Church.
The Addolorata, surrounded by women veiled in mourning and by the Crociferi, crosses the city streets, reaching all the churches in search of her son. In the morning, at the end of the penitentiary journey, the beautiful statue is placed in the churchyard of the mother church to give rise to the kiss of the cloak. On the afternoon of Holy Saturday the last procession takes place, that of the Mysteries, that is, the simulacra representing the various moments of the Passion of Christ. On this occasion, the faithful can admire a precious relic: a splinter of the cross of Christ. All these rites represent a story of faith and an expression of collective spirituality, deeply felt by the local population and much admired by tourists.
(Photo: Traditionally Noja; Municipality of Noicattaro, Pro loco of Noicattaro)
