Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This paper presents the findings derivative of our Master’s investigation, referent to the Ash Wednesday Procession of the Venerable Third Order of Saint Francis of Porto. This penitential procession was one of the city’s most prominent religious manifestations, existing between 1633 and 1905. It accompanied the city’s religious, social, artistic, historic, and urban transformations, reflecting upon itself and its composition those very same changes. In such sense, we believe the procession constitutes an important source of information for studying the development of the city’s religious life and that of the Franciscan apologetic and iconology. In particular, we reflect upon the latter and how Porto’s Third Order’s singularities impact changes on its ceremonial representation and processional organization. As so, we dwell on the diachrony of the Procession, exposing differences and similarities with other analogous processions in Portugal, Brazil and Spain, whilst analyzing its composition, composing elements, and underlying processional practices.