Santuario de la Vera Cruz
Heritage
The Christ who accompanied the dead
Arriving in Cabezas from Bercial, the first thing you come across is this whitewashed hermitage, white against the blue of the plain. It has brick eaves, a cross with a weathervane on top, and an iron door topped with a cross, reached by a few red-brick steps. Rosemary, a rose bush and a lilac scent the entrance. The records call it an «ermita humilladero» — a wayside shrine: the place where travellers would stop to pray before setting off or on returning home.
Inside it holds the village's oldest image, a wooden Gothic crucified Christ, probably from the 14th or 15th century. For generations it was carried in procession on the feast of the Cross of May, and it accompanied residents on their final journey, since the Brotherhood of the Vera Cruz carried it at funerals.
Highlights
- ·The Gothic Christ, probably from the 14th or 15th century
- ·Its feet, crossed one over the other and pierced by a single nail
- ·The original carved loincloth, hidden beneath the skirt
- ·The iron door topped with a cross, and the scent of rosemary, roses and lilac at the entrance
What the skirt hides
The women of the village sew the skirt that dresses it, renewing it from time to time. The previous one was made by the neighbour who cared for the hermitage for years, the mother of the current mayor. Underneath lies the original carved loincloth, long and deeply folded, with painted streaks of blood on the legs.
How to recognise a Gothic Christ
Its feet are crossed and pierced by a single nail, the eyes closed, the head fallen: a Christ who has died, human and fragile.
A hermitage cared for by its village
The brotherhood repaired it in 1909 and 1934, and rebuilt it in 1974, always with their own funds. The brotherhood, with record books dating back to 1817, is the village's oldest, and the only one still active.
A village ringed by sacred places
The hermitage was once part of a ring of places of prayer that surrounded the village, «closing a circle of protection». There was a wayside shrine by the lagoon, called the Concepción, and a hermitage dedicated to Saint James on the road to Bernuy, surrounded by poplars. Today only the Vera Cruz remains.
Timeline
- 14th–15th centuries: probable date of the Gothic Christ
- Early 18th century: possible origin of the hermitage
- 1817: brotherhood's earliest surviving record book
- 1909 and 1934: repairs paid for by the brotherhood
- 1932: the new Christ arrives; the Gothic one moves to a side wall
- 1974: last rebuilding
Practical information
- Address:
- Salida del pueblo, carretera hacia Bercial, junto a El Tejar
- Opening hours:
- Visits by arrangement with the Town Hall.