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April 20, 2011

NYT: A Spanish brotherhood includes women in holy week procession

by Raphael Minder
The New York Times

SEVILLE — Ana María Ruiz Copete, a sister in the oldest religious brotherhood of Seville, has been anticipating this Easter celebration for 30 years.

On Friday, the Brotherhood of Silence will include for the first time Ms. Ruiz Copete and 25 other women in one of the traditional processions of hooded penitents that have put the Andalusian capital at the center stage of Catholic celebrations of the Holy Week. Over the course of the week, 60 brotherhoods follow different routes across Seville, holding giant candles and walking alongside richly decorated floats, which are lifted by teams of strong men and on which wooden religious sculptures are placed.

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