XXV Anniversary of the Canonical Coronation

To commemorate the XXV Anniversary of Her Canonical Coronation, the image of La Santísima Virgen de la Esperanza was moved to the Cathedral on the afternoon of 27th May 1989. The procession set out at half past three and finally entered the Cathedral through the Puerta de San Miguel at eleven o’clock in the evening. The whole City Council was waiting in the Plaza de San Francisco, which had been cordoned off for the occasion and which was packed with people long before the arrival of the Virgin.

In the Cathedral, there was a Triduum, followed by a Solemn Pontifical Mass celebrated by Cardinal Antonio María Javierre Ortas, Prefect of the Vatican Library. It was attended by the Infanta Doña Elena de Borbón y Grecia, in representation of the Spanish Royal Family, which had such close links with the Brotherhood and with La Santísima Virgen de la Esperanza.

When the High Mass was over, the procession set out on its return journey to the strains of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. It left the Cathedral by the Puerta de San Miguel, and was moving along the Avenida de la Constitución when there was a sudden downpour. The image had to shelter beneath the arch of the Town Hall. After the shower it continued on its way back to the Basilica, where it finally arrived at six o’clock in the morning.