Associació del Via Crucis Vivent

For more than three centuries, Sant Hilari Sacalm has celebrated its live Stations of the Cross, preserving the processional tradition, passing it on from father to son, and it has become such an important popular event that it even exceeds its geography.

The procession of the living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday has a documented history of some 270 years, but before 1731 there were already processions in which characters from the Gospel such as Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany or Mary the "sinner" were represented.

One of the most representative and popular figures of the Living Stations of the Cross in Sant Hilari Sacalm, together with the Steps or Mysteries, are the armed. Their work is one of the most spectacular and hardest of the representation of every night of Good Friday, they follow the rhythm of the drums during the 3 hours, marking the step and conducting themselves through the different streets of the city, with the sound of the spears. when they explode against the ground.

One of the most emotional scenes, where thousands of people gather, is the one that gives fame to the Living Stations of the Cross, Calvary, located on the outskirts of the town, where the magnificent interpretation of the Roman soldiers together with an excellent illustration, lighting and Underlined with the acoustics of the music, it captivates locals and strangers.

In 2010, the association of the Living Stations of the Cross of Sant Hilari Sacalm was awarded the Cross of Sant Jordi from the Generalitat of Catalonia for the care of the preservation and enrichment of a religious manifestation that has been celebrated in Sant Hilari Sacalm for more than two centuries. In recognition of the sustained dedication that this task entails, its transmission to the young generations and the valuable contribution that the Hilarienca tradition represents for the heritage of our popular and traditional culture. Likewise, the same year, the Government of the Generalitat of Catalonia agrees to reclassify our association as a heritage festive element of national interest.