The city of Puerto Madryn, in the Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia (Argentina), is preparing its 19th edition of the Submarine Via Crucis, which will take place on 7 April, Good Friday.
It is a unique experience in the world, since a part of the procession takes place underwater, with an installation of lights adapted for immersion.
Its first edition was in the year 2000, and it had the blessing of the then Bishop Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, today Pope Francis.
In the last Via Crucis, which took place in 2022, more than 100 people were submerged in the Argentine sea to follow the underwater stations.
The Secretary of Tourism of the city of Puerto Madryn, Cecilia Pavia, acknowledged to the Télam Agency that “it is a very exciting event.”
And he explained: “When night falls, people light their lampshades and the sea lights up with the cross and other lights carried by those who participate from the water and the land.”
“The postcard is completed with the voices of the city’s choirs and all the people who accompany them, which is a lot,” he added.
The procession will leave at 6:00 pm from the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish on Good Friday and after a land tour with stations in different parts of the city, you will arrive at Piedra Buena Dock.
There the aquatic stage will begin, where kayakers, professionals, and sports divers will accompany the priest or consecrated layman who will recount the way of the cross from under the water, through a hydrophone.
During the last reflections of the Via Crucis, the Municipal Stable Choir and the Municipal Youth Choir will perform the final songs of the Passion of Christ.
The procession concludes with the departure of the group of divers to the beach, accompanying the cross. There they will be received by those present who will carry their candles in silence.