CORPUS CHRISTI

The festival of Corpus Christi has been celebrated all over Peru since colonial times, but reaches a high point in Cusco. Fifteen saints and virgins from various districts are borned in a procession to the Cathedral where they "greet" the body of Christ embodied in the Sacred Host, kept in a fabulous gold goblet weighing 26 kilos (57 pounds) and standing 1.2 meters (47 inches) high.

Sixty days after Easter Sunday, the members of each nearby church bear their patron saint in a procession to the chimes of the María Angola, forged in a copper-gold alloy in the sixteenth century. At night everyone gathers together, for an overnight vigil, where typical dishes are served. At dawn the procession sets off around the main square, bearing the images of five virgins clad in richly embroidered tunics, plus the images of four saints: Sebastian, Blas, Joseph and the Apostle Santiago mounted on a beautiful white horse. Then the saints enter the Cathedral to receive homage.

More information:

• The Corpus Christi festival in Cusco (newsletter article).