The Santa Catalina Tomàs triumphal carriage procession will once again fill the streets of Palma on Saturday 17 October, with nearly 900 participants and more than 30 groups. Emma Martínez González will be this year’s Beateta in a parade featuring representatives from 18 Mallorcan municipalities, music bands, xeremiers (traditional bagpipe players), giants and floats. The Palma Municipal Band will bring the procession to a close.
The Consell de Mallorca, the Diocese of Mallorca and the Canonical Community of Santa Magdalena, with the collaboration of Palma City Council and the Teatre Principal, are organising the Santa Catalina Tomàs triumphal carriage celebrations on 16 and 17 October. This year’s festivities come with a special distinction: the Consell de Mallorca has definitively declared the processions held in honour of Santa Catalina Tomàs in Palma, Valldemossa and Santa Margalida Intangible Cultural Heritage Assets of Mallorca (BICIM).
The Santa Catalina Tomàs triumphal carriage: a historic Palma tradition
Palma’s triumphal carriage procession is the oldest of its kind in Mallorca. Its origins date back to the celebrations held in 1792 to mark the beatification of the nun born in Valldemossa, who lived from 1531 to 1574.
At the time, the Gran i General Consell promoted the procession, having supported the cause for Santa Catalina Tomàs’s canonisation in 1625. The process culminated in 1930. This historical connection explains the continued involvement of the present-day Consell de Mallorca in a celebration that combines a civic tribute to a religious figure with an island-wide festival that extends beyond the boundaries of a single municipality.
Eighteen municipalities and more than 30 groups
This year’s Beateta will be Emma Martínez González. Representatives from Palma, Andratx, Binissalem, Campos, Consell, Felanitx, Llucmajor, Maria de la Salut, Marratxí, Muro, Pollença, Porreres, Santa Margalida, Santanyí, Selva, Sóller, Valldemossa and Vilafranca de Bonany have confirmed their participation in the procession.
More than 30 groups will take part, including music bands, xeremier groups, folk groups, giant figures, floats and representations of historical and religious figures associated with Santa Catalina Tomàs. Decorated carts, the ceremonial musicians of the Consell de Mallorca and the triumphal carriage will also feature in the parade.
The Palma Municipal Band will close the procession. The giant figures accompanied by the xeremiers of Palma City Council and the Coral Sant Jaume choir will also make special appearances. The choir will perform “Sor Tomasseta” during the morning parade outside the church of Sant Jaume, and will sing “La Balanguera” together with the public to bring the procession to a close.
Santa Catalina Tomàs programme of events in Palma
Friday 16 October
- 7.00 pm: Presentation of the Beateta at the church of Santa Magdalena.
- 7.30 pm: A religious education session about Santa Catalina Tomàs for children, led by Mn. Bartomeu Villalonga Moyà, parish priest of the Santanyí pastoral unit, at the church of Santa Magdalena.
Saturday 17 October
- 10.00 am: Parade around the Santa Magdalena monastery.
- 11.00 am: Solemn concelebrated Mass, presided over by Mn. Bartomeu Villalonga Moyà. The Beateta will attend, accompanied by her little angels and payesitos (children dressed in traditional Mallorcan rural costume).
- 6.30 pm: Santa Catalina Tomàs triumphal carriage procession.
Parade route: Plaça de l’Hospital, Costa de la Sang, La Rambla, Carrer de la Riera, Carrer de la Unió, Plaça del Mercat, Carrer de la Unió, Avinguda de Jaume III, Carrer de Bonaire, Carrer del Bisbe Campins, Via Roma, Costa de la Sang, Carrer del Jardí Botànic and Plaça de Santa Magdalena.
At the end of the procession, a floral offering will take place, followed by an opportunity to venerate the body of Santa Catalina Tomàs.
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