Royal and Venerable Confraternity of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Mafra

The confraternity was created in the 16th century, at the St. Andrew's Church. and later also received the assets of the extinct Confraternity of the Lord Jesus of the Stations of Mafra (Portuguese: Irmandade do Senhor Jesus dos Passos de Mafra), while assigning to the confraternity the responsibility of organising all processions according to the local religious calendar. On 10 November 2020, Pope Francis granted a canonical coronation to the image of Our Lady of Solitude guarded by the confraternity. This announcement was made public on 13 December 2020 with the Mafra carillons playing the Inno e Marcia Pontificale. The statue was crowned on 17 September 2023 with a crown personally blessed by Pope Francis, simultaneously with the Fourth Pan-European Forum of Brotherhoods and Confraternities. == Traditional Lent season processions in Mafra ==

The processions of Lent in Mafra started in the 18th century. Thanks to conservation and restoration efforts, these ceremonies maintain the grand Baroque flair. These processions were officially declared by the Municipality as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Municipal Interest. === Procession of the Passion of the Lord (Via Crucis) === This is one of the oldest expressions of piety in Mafra, and originated from the old collegiate church of St. Andrew's in the 17th century. Procession of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady The Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows, created in 1779, in the old collegiate church of St. Andrew's in Mafra, organized the first procession in 1793. It takes place on Palm Sunday, the Sunday after the Friday of Sorrows celebrating the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. The procession is composed of seven religious litters corresponding to the seven sorrows of the Mother of Jesus, and an eighth, with the image of Our Lady of Sorrows. It comprises more than fifty images attributed to the sculptor Joaquim José de Barros Laborão, one of the last masters from the School of Sculpture of Mafra, according to Armindo Ayres de Carvalho. This procession is popularly known as "Procession of the Little Donkey" (Portuguese: Procissão da Burrinha), originally depicted in the religious litter of the flight into Egypt, in which the Virgin is depicted as seated on a donkey. Procession of the Burial of the Lord The exact origin of this procession is uncertain. It takes place on the night of Good Friday. In 1773, the Third Order of St. Francis commissioned a new image of Our Lady of Solitude, this same image still used on the procession. This solemn procession, represents the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The silent funeral procession, is accompanied by Veronica’s and The Three Marys lamentations. This ancient Catholic tradition, and unique to Mafra, is accompanied by the Centurion, a typical figure in the town's folk art, dressed in original garments dating back to the 18th century. == References ==