Feeling of veneration through the streets of Casco

The day of Corpus Christi dawns in Toledo with the touch of reveille and the launching of real bombs. Later, the Tarasca walks again accompanied by the charanga, the giants and the big heads. At 11:00 a.m., a salvo of mortars announces the departure of the procession from the Primate Cathedral, through the Puerta Llana. Soldiers from the Infantry Academy are the first to receive the Custody with the chords of the Spanish anthem.

The young cadets remain motionless, watching as the procession forms to close the parade behind the Archbishop with Flag, Music Band and a Company of Honors.

The processional cortege, which opens the picket line of the Civil Guard, begins its journey through the streets of the historic center of the city, bordering the Cathedral of Toledo along Cardenal Cisneros street.

The awnings, authentic canopy of the Custody, cover the passage of the Body of Christ accompanied from those first meters by the characteristic triumphal arches of green branches; symbolism of the ephemeral that merges with the floral decorations present throughout the route.

The small hill of Calle Sixto Ramón Parro is happily climbed by the cortege, which saves strength to face the entire route on a day that is traditionally plagued by high temperatures.

The arrival at the Rojas Theater after leaving behind the Posada de la Hermandad is one of the first visual icons of the procession. Tourists and residents of Toledo gather on the access steps, and the breadth of the space of the so-called Plaza Mayor -not by far the largest in the Casco- serves so that the Custody is entertained non-stop by the applause of the faithful.

Going up Calle Tornerías (or Calle de las Pescaderías), the procession fits into the narrow streets of the city’s Islamic layout, along Martín Gamero until it ends at Cuatro Calles and from there faces the straight line from Calle Comercio to Zocodover.

With the spire of the Cathedral tower in the background, among flower petals, incense and thyme, the Custody leaves prints to remember. From the balconies, the people of Toledo receive the jewel of Arfe without losing sight of the real treasure: the Body of Christ.

Amid applause, how could it be otherwise, the Custody leads to Zocodover for a real mass bath in which not even a pin fits. After being deposited in the shelter of the Arco de la Sangre, the archbishop’s speech begins; always loaded with a message, both worldly and spiritual.

A break to witness the Corpus Christi festival and continue with the last section of the procession. The procession heads down Calle Sillería to face the most ‘traditional’ part of the route, the one that blends in with the Arab traces of the city to give rise to incomparable settings under an atmosphere charged with the smells of the purest Corpus Christi.

The mixed atmosphere of incense with thyme, and the high temperatures almost always present (and today more), help create an almost mystical atmosphere in the descent of the Body of Christ down Alfileritos street. The Custody rubs against the garlands and from the balconies the faithful do not hesitate to throw flower petals in what are about 200 meters that condense the best of the procession.

The procession breathes air again upon arrival at the Plaza de San Vicente, where the final stretch of the procession begins along Calle Alfonso X el Sabio.

The Church of San Ildefonso, an old stronghold of the Jesuits no longer present in the city, greets the passage of the Body of Christ with another of those open and stepped spaces so infrequent on the route.

A place for visitors and neighbors to crowd to see a processional order that remains intact despite the distance already covered since the departure at eleven in the morning of the Custody of the Cathedral.

Requiebro on Calle De Rojas to face the arrival at Plaza de El Salvador and, leaving to the right the slope parallel to the Center at the back of the Archbishop’s Palace to undertake, now, the end of the Corpus Christi procession.

The descent through Arco de Palacio could not be more spectacular. The Primate Cathedral shows off its walls adorned with lavish tapestries, authentic linen and silk canvases that are divided into series according to the motifs they represent: Eucharistic, archbishops of Toledo, stories from the Old Testament, virtues, classical world and mythology, and arts.

In total, there are 48 tapestries that the Cathedral displays each year during Corpus Christi, half of which will be permanently exhibited in the Tapestry Museum located in the nearby Colegio de Infantes.

The concrete passage through Arco de Palacio gives way to the arrival at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento for the last bath of crowds of the Custodia de Arfe and its passage, through the same Puerta Llama that left, again to the Seo Primada of Spain.

Feeling of veneration through the streets of Casco