Why are images and crosses cover in churches in Lent and Holy Week?

In various Catholic temples of Mexico, religious images covered with purple fabrics, including crosses and statues of saints, can already be observed. Why this practice?

It is common that after the celebration of Good Friday, the churches cover the images and figures of saints as a symbol of mourning for the death of Jesus. However, the Archdiocese of Tulancingo, located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, explained in a publication in social networks That in some temples this practice can begin since V Sunday of Lent, which this year was on April 6.

This liturgical sign, said the Archdiocese, “invites us to strip ourselves from visual and mundane distractions to focus on the contemplation of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.”

“In all the churches there are beautiful sculptures and works of art that ‘steal’ our gaze, when covering them the distractions are avoided, our senses can focus on the words of the Gospel of the day,” added the publication.

The fabric used is generally purple, “typical of liturgical time”, although the dicascery for the divine cult and discipline of the sacraments allow The use of red. The liturgical norms of Holy Week also indicate that “candles or lamps will not ignite the images of the saints.”

Although this practice was mandatory, today is optional. “It is a powerful custom, which is maintained in some places for being a catechetical symbol,” said the archdiocese, clarifying that the Catholic Church does not currently force the images.

Even in the times when it was a mandatory practice, it was allowed to discover the images for processions, such as the Painful Virgin with her dead son in her arms, on Thursday and Good Friday. The image of the painful on the altar during Dolores Friday could also be discovered.

When are they discovered?

According to the Mexican archdiocese, the liturgical regulations indicate that the crucifix used for worship on Good Friday “is discovered during the beginning of this rite, while singing: ‘Look at the cross tree’, if that option is chosen.”

While the rest of the crucifixes “are discovered, according to the Roman Missal, at the end of the celebration of the passion of the Lord”, the other images are discovered, “until the beginning of the Pascual vigil. In many places the tradition is that they are revealed while the glory is sought.”