Contents Latest news Future Projects Chantemerle Hennemont Dip into the past History page Swannington Cousins Christine Party Marie-Charlotte Alexander Catherine Christine Nicholas	EASTER DAY 2004 Let me pass over the breakfast, which can be described elswhere, to begin in the Cathedral where Easter mass was celebrated by the Cardinal Archbishop of Seville and three other bishops. We arrived just before the reading from the Old Testament - not too late by our standards - and we had entered the spirit of the day by the time we got to the Gospel. Once again, Mary Magdalen came to the tomb; and 'Juan' ran faster, but 'Pedro' went in first. It did not seem to matter that my Spanish was so poor, although Christine was able to follow every word of his lyrical sermon. For me, the rhythm of his words seemed to speak; and I heard time and time again 'esperanza'. The music and the incense took our prayers up to the beautiful vaulting of the cathedral, and we were dazzled by the magnificence of the golden sculptured panel behind the altar. Here were all the stories from the gospels for those with low levels of concentration to gaze at. My eyes were fixed!
Spain1 Spain2 Spain4 Spain5	Entry to Mass in places like this have many earthly advantages. You see the Cathedral lit up and are able to wander around peacefully afterwards. Most of those attending Mass were clearly from Seville. But for those of us from far afield, the service was easy enough to follow. Especially if, like Christine, you know your Latin. How silly of the Catholic church to have given it up for daily use for, when it is used, anyone can follow it as long as they, too, were brought up with it. Before we left, we were able to look at paintings by Murillo and the famous tomb of Christopher Columbus, which apparently isn't his tomb at all. An amusing battle is currently being fought out between the various claimants, and the spectre of DNA looms over the Cathedral of Seville.                                Tomb of Christopher Columbus.