The Congregación de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles is organizing the traditional festivities in Getafe, honoring the city’s patron saint from July 30 to August 2 at the Cerro de los Ángeles hermitage, according to the official program released by the organization.
Festivities Schedule and Liturgical Services at Cerro de los Ángeles
Religious celebrations leading up to the main feast day begin with a triduo held at the Cerro de los Ángeles hermitage from July 30 to August 1, starting daily at 20:00 hours, as detailed by the Congregación de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. Juan Alberto Ramírez Avilés, a priest from the Archdiocese of Toledo and a member of the Pontificio Colegio Español de San José in Rome, is scheduled to preach the services, with organ accompaniment provided by Daniel Ruiz.
The main feast day on August 2 opens at 8:00 hours with the ‘misa de labradores’, presided over by the Piarist priest Valentín Benavente Sacristán and concelebrated by Salesian priest Joaquín Torres Campos, university chaplain at CES Don Bosco in Madrid and regional delegate of Salesian Cooperators for Spain and Portugal. At 11:00 hours, Luis Manuel Vallecillos, ecclesiastical consiliario of the Congregation and pastor of the Santa María Magdalena Cathedral, will preside over the solemn mass, accompanied again by organist Daniel Ruiz.
The evening program features a solemn procession of the image of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles across the esplanade of the Basílica del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús at 20:30 hours. This will be followed immediately at 20:45 hours by a solemn Eucharist presided over by vicar general and moderator of the curia Javier Mariata, concluding with a second procession through the religious site.
Special Intentions and Prayers for Disaster Victims
This year’s celebrations incorporate specific prayers and symbolic gestures addressing recent natural disasters, according to announcements from the Congregación de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. During the triduo petitions and the August 2 services, special mentions will be made for individuals affected by wildfires in the Getafe diocese and for victims of the earthquake in Venezuela.
Preparations for the events took place on the afternoon of July 29, when the governing board and attendants replaced the Virgin’s mantle with a blue one and affixed her crown. During this ceremony, the image was fitted with two specific medals: one from the Virgen de la Poveda, patron saint of Villa del Prado, which is one of the municipalities heavily impacted by wildfires, and another from the Virgen de Coromoto, patron saint of Venezuela.
Transportation and Accessibility for Attendees
To accommodate attendees traveling to the hermitage, transport provider Avanza Interurbanos is operating a special bus service starting at 18:30 hours, according to the Congregación de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. Buses will depart from Avenida Juan de la Cierva in Getafe and provide return trips to the starting point upon the conclusion of the evening events.
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