Easter Processions - Processions of Faith, Sorrow and Hope

Every year, during Holy Week, Molfetta transforms into a stage vibrant with emotion and age-old tradition: the Easter processions mark the course of Lent, beginning on the night between Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, when, accompanied by the bells of every church in the town, in an atmosphere of solemnity and quiet reflection, the Processione della Croce sets out from the Chiesa del Purgatorio.

The second procession takes place on Passion Friday, the Friday before Palm Sunday. From the steps of the Chiesa del Purgatorio, the statue of the Addolorata sets off, accompanied by the town band and crowds of the faithful, carried on the shoulders of the members of the Arciconfraternita della Morte.

The most important and deeply felt procession, the high point of Molfetta's Easter celebrations, remains that of the Misteri of the Arciconfraternita di Santo Stefano, held on Good Friday. At the heart of this solemn ritual are the five wooden statues depicting the Sorrowful Mysteries. The procession sets off at 3:00 am, once again from the steps of the Chiesa di S. Stefano, winding slowly through the streets of Molfetta to the haunting strains of the town's traditional funeral marches, which turn grief and hope into music, amid the hushed silence of the hundreds of thousands gathered.

The Easter processions come to a close on Holy Saturday with the Processione della Pietà. The statues are carried with great devotion on the shoulders of the members of the Arciconfraternita della Morte. All the statues are works in papier-mâché by the Molfetta sculptor Giulio Cozzoli — a tangible sign of the town's age-old tradition surrounding the rites of Holy Week.