D. Manuel António, Bishop Emeritus of São Tomé and Príncipe, will preside this year over the Easter celebrations in the Parish of Tavira.
The program for this intense week begins on Palm Sunday. There will be evening Masses on Saturday 1st April (16 pm at the Church of Santa Luzia and 30 pm at the Church of Santiago, Tavira) and on the 18nd the usual Sunday masses will also be celebrated (at 00 am, 2 am – in English – and 9:00, in the Church of Santiago).
On this day, there will also be the monumental Procession of Palms, which leaves at 17 pm from the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, being organized by the Brotherhood of Carmo. This procession, with different litters, recreates precisely the last steps of Christ's life.
During the week, there will be opportunities for confession (April 4, 15:00 pm to 20:00 pm, at Igreja de Santiago), Way of the Cross (April 5, 21:00 pm, start at Igreja de São Francisco) and liturgical celebrations, such as the Celebration of the Supper of Sir, on Thursday the 6th of April.
On this day there will be Eucharists in the Churches of Santa Luzia (16:30 pm) and Santiago (19:30 pm) and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (21:00 pm, Santiago).
Already in the middle of the Paschal Triduum, the celebration of the Lord's Passion will be celebrated on Friday (April 7). This day will begin with Solemn Lauds (10:00 am, Church of Santiago).
The memorial of the Lord's passion and death will take place at 15 pm, also in the Church of Santiago. The day will end with the Procession of the Burial of the Lord, organized by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Tavira, a procession that runs through the streets of the city, seeking silence and recollection.
On Saturday morning, there will again be Solemn Lauds (10 am, Church of Santiago) and, at the end of the day, at 00 pm, the highest moment of this entire program will take place: the Easter Vigil.
Easter Sunday will be lived in a spirit of great joy and prayer, giving thanks for Christ's surrender and resurrection for the remission of the sins of all men and women.
At 9:00 am, in the Church of S. Paulo, there will be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This will be followed, at 10:00 am, by the resurrection procession, which will leave S. Paulo towards the Church of Santiago and during which, for some years now, the blessing of the city of Tavira and all its inhabitants has been carried out. .
On this day there will be different Eucharists: at 9:00 am (in English), at 11:00 am and 18:00 pm in Santiago and at 16:30 pm in Santa Luzia.
«We hope that this Easter can be lived in a spirit of unity and a lot of prayer, both for peace in the world, which is sorely needed, and for the Portuguese Church, which is experiencing a delicate moment and needs all Catholics to unite and live the truth and in truth, full of hope, as Christ asked and as his resurrection teaches us», says Father Miguel Lopes Neto, parish priest of Tavira.
«I wish everyone a Holy and Happy Easter!», he concludes.
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