Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacament of Villafáfila

Currently there are some brotherhoods in Villafáfila such as the Santísimo Sacramento or the Ánimas, whose origin dates back to the 16th century; others such as the Sacred Heart of Jesus or the Immaculate Heart of Mary founded at the beginning of the 20th century; and the new weekly brotherhoods of Cristo de la Misericordia and Virgen de los Dolores.

Many of the old brotherhoods have disappeared over the years and we only know partial news in the books of the various parishes that have come down to us.

This brotherhood was founded in the church of Santa María el Moral, and that even today continues to exist, operating in the same church and going out in procession.

1771 reference is made to the brotherhood of Santísimo in the referral file of the Viscount of Valoria, mayor of Zamora, to the Count of Aranda of the state of the congregations, brotherhoods and brotherhoods that exist in the towns of his jurisdiction, Villafáfila (Zamora) ( sheet VIII et seq.)

Brotherhood founded in the 16th century for the exaltation of Corpus Christi and the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, it had special protection by the council and the accounts that have been preserved from it include various items of money for the brotherhood. Thus in 1538 the town spent every year 2,000 mrs. in the function and procession of Corpus Cristi. During that century, and coinciding with the Counter-Reformation, the brotherhood had a great expansion.

In 1565 the brotherhood owned a small herd of sheep that the regiment allowed to remain in the terms in times that the other cattle had to leave the town. In 1570 the mayordomos del Santísimo are cited.

In addition to the money that the city council obtained from the herbage of the cattle, the aldermen commissioned a suit in 1576 that would remain in the possession of the town to solemnly celebrate the functions of the Blessed Sacrament. In the accounts of the council of 1578 the expenditure of 12 reales is noted:

Devotion to Corpus Christi increased with the Counter-Reformation and some deceased left orders to celebrate functions in their honor.

At the end of the 16th century, Diego de Almanza died, a nobleman from the town who was a priest of the Bretó parish for many years and between the masses and processions that he endowed in his will, he commissioned the Ecclesiastical Council of Villafáfila to organize a festivities on Corpus Christi day. morning and evening for what he left part of his inheritance:

“Eve and day of Corpus in Nra Sra solemn vespers and solemn mass and procession through the whole town with the Blessed by Diego de Almanza, priest of Bretó.

Second Vespers on the same day and procession with the Blessed Sacrament, distribute three thousand mrs as follows:

More is spent for the intention of the said priest of Bretó the wax of these processions and parties as ordered by the Ldo Lope García, its last disposer and for this expense the rent that the said Diego de Almança left in Bretó and Santovenia is applied to the council that There are five loads of bread for herbs and wickets, wheat and barley. All at the rate of fourteen ” ^{^[1]} .

But the demographic and economic crisis at the end of the century affected his brothers and their income. In the factory book of Santa María of 1614 it is noted:

“that “for more than eight years that the mayordomos of the brotherhood of the Santísimo have not given the accounts”.

The decline of the brotherhood and of the entire town in general was accentuated during the 17th century.

“Given that the brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament of this town needs reform because it does not have income to be able to fulfill the obligations that are owed to celebrate the festivities of the Holy Sacramento, they determined, at the expense of the brothers who entered, to make them and celebrate them in the best possible way”

and proceeded to elaborate new ordinances and rules for the brotherhood, which are kept in the Diocesan Archive of Zamora.

“When the Sanctíssimo is taken to a sick person who was a brother, the brotherhood should come with its script, Palio and four candles and those who want to bring lighted candles to win the yndulgençias, that they take them from their houses. And for this, the sick person must be notified by the Abbot of the brotherhood so that he can order the insignia to be worn”.

If a brother was in danger of death, two brothers from the brotherhood would watch over him, alternating until his death or improvement. If he died, those who were watching over him were in charge of burying him or having it done at his expense. All the members would attend the burial of the brotherhood, under penalty of a wax quarter, carrying the script of the brotherhood and four candles. Initially, the obligation was established for each of the brothers to have a mass said for each brother who died, but in 1683 it was reduced to the obligation of an annual mass that each brother had to have said.

On one of the days of the Octave of the Dead, a general office of Vespers, Mass and Procession was held around the church for the deceased brothers, celebrated by the entire Ecclesiastical Chapter, with the obligatory attendance of all the brothers present who were not impeded. A monthly prayer mass was also celebrated.

On Easter morning and the Friday following Corpus Christi, the brotherhood ordered a sung mass to be said with the assistance of the council and a general procession through the streets of the town, with the insignia and four axes of the brotherhood.

The great celebration of the brotherhood was the Sunday following Corpus Christi, known as the Sunday of the Lord. On Saturday afternoon vespers were said in Santa María. On Sunday morning the brothers went to the church of San Martín with candles and insignia and went in procession to Santa María, where mass was celebrated, returning the procession to San Martín, where the host was left on a throne and altar arranged for this purpose by the abbot, "with the greatest cleanliness, pomp, silk ornaments and lights that he could" , being watched over by two brothers who alternated until the afternoon when the Blessed Sacrament was taken out in procession throughout the town, going back to the same church. After the procession, the officials for the following year were elected.

In addition, every third Sunday a mass and procession of the Minerva was celebrated, which was endowed in Santa María by María Ana Sisona, from Benegiles, which the entire brotherhood had to attend:

“ Third Sundays of the month, the council is obliged to say a solemn mass in Our Lady and a procession around the church with His Divine Majesty for Ana Sisona and Lorenzo de Muélledes, her husband, neighbors of Benegiles.

Distribute 748 mrs to each festivity. He paid in cash at the rate of twenty a thousand, put the money in the coffer. And if this festivity happens to fall on Easter, the council complies with saying four prayed masses for the intention of the founders ” .

The brothers had to attend all these functions with lighted candles, at the expense of the brotherhood, which also had to have the four candles for burials and the four axes for processions.

They established the obligation to keep the lamp of the Blessed Sacrament lit in Santa María, for which they would ask for alms every Sunday and on the days when the viaticum went out to the sick, and the brothers had to do it in shifts

"and this for their people, not trusting the servants, and if they are busy, such brothers have an obligation to look for other brothers to ask for the said alms" .

In the church the brotherhood had a chest to store the wax, ornaments and insignia.

The officers that governed the brotherhood were elected annually: at the head and the government of the brotherhood was in charge of an abbot , who was in charge of carrying the script to the processions; four officers called quatro , who assisted and helped the abbot, and on Lord's Sunday one would be at the altar of San Martín, another at Santa María, another would go to the Town Hall to prepare the passage of the Blessed Sacrament through it, and the other he would carry the ornaments from one church to the other, they also had to carry the poles of the canopy; two mayors who were in charge of distributing the candles for the functions, of governing the processions, of charging all the brothers the annual fee of 4 reales, and the entrance fee for the new ones; and a butler that he had to be in charge of lighting the lamp, carrying the insignia, lighting the axes, preparing embers for the censer, and keeping track of the penalty charge. Only the officials chose their successors and they were accountable to them, with the assistance of the brothers they wanted.

The admission as brothers of "rebellious people, of bad living and suspicious" is prohibited , and the admission was on an individual basis, not being able to make family admissions.

The dues as a brother were four reales a year in two installments, one in July and the other in January, and at the entrance one pound of wax in four "a quarterón" candles , and when he died he had to give the brotherhood another four reales.

"meals or snacks particularly in the Yglessias, and the abbot would like to give them, do not take them away, but not at the expense of this brotherhood" .

The modification of the rule should be made in a council of all the brothers by majority.

The notice to attend the burials of the brothers consisted of nine chimes with the small bell of the tower of Santa María, which is still preserved as the bell of the Santísimo, by the mayordomo.

To win the indulgences of the brotherhood, its members, in addition to carrying lighted candles at functions and funerals:

"an de rreçar çfive times the prayer of the Pater Noster with the Hail Mary, for the state of the Holy Mother Church and concord between the Christian kings and princes and the extirpation of the eregies, as stated in the bull of this brotherhood" .

Antonio Durán, abbot of the brotherhood and priest of San Martín (in addition to commissioner of the Holy Office of the Inquisition), Pedro Álvarez de Muelas, priest of Santa María, Juan Aguado, priest of San Salvador, Alonso Gutiérrez, priest of San Juan, Santos Martínez, priest of Santa Marta, Domingo Ferreras, Francisco Díaz, Antonio Herrero, Leandro de Cuellar, priest of San Pedro, the lawyer Diego Gutiérrez, the notary Manuel de Vitacarros, Pedro Rosinos, Antonio Charro, Antonio Caballero, Francisco Fernández, Francisco Escaja and Antonio Mateos.

The following year these statutes were approved by the Bishop of Astorga, Don Francisco Aguado.

The new brotherhood organizes great functions in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, of which we have the testimony of Antonio Moreno de la Torre, a wealthy resident of Zamora, who left a diary of those years.

“Villafáfila left, Saturday July 2, 1678, the day of the Visitation. Sunday the feast of the Blessed Sacrament. It was fulfilled. Fire, mojiganga, procession.

To hang and make altars was Almaraz; many people from Zamora. There are 7 leagues.

I had a great time being Moreno ^{^[2]} , there are some in the town and Monroyes, who is all one Vítor to the butlers, noticed the Consistory ” ^{^[3]} .

From this testimony we know that in addition to the religious functions that were organized by the brotherhood, in which the streets were decorated with pendants and altars were erected for which specialists from Zamora were hired, the festivity was completed with fireworks and mojigangas or theatrical performances with masks, which were typical of carnival, but in the 17th century, various playwrights such as Calderón de la Barca wrote dramatic-religious texts for the Corpus. Those early years the party continued on Monday with bullfights and comedy performances, that year by the author of the Golden Age Agustín de Salazar, who achieved fame in the 17th century with his mythological comedies.

The secular functions to celebrate Corpus Christi or Sunday of the Lord went back to previous centuries, as I said before, in the accounts of the regiment of the year 1578 it is noted among other items:

“plus I paid twelve reais to the gypsies for the dance on the day of the Sacrament” ^{^[4]}

"For how much the town in each year of its own must give to the brotherhood of the Santísimo and to its abbot in its name, to help its parties, if it does them, and taking into account that the Ldo Pedro Álvarez de Muelas, priest of Santa María and abbot of the council of this town and of the brotherhood, how willing he is to throw parties with the approval of the town, so that for the help of their own he is given what is customary, for which they agreed and they ordered that he be given a release in the usual amount ” .

Although in the Cadastre of Ensenada of 1752 there are no real estate belonging to this brotherhood, the assets that the brotherhood had were disentailed in the 19th century, since in 1904 compensation was requested from the Ministry of Finance for it.

This brotherhood remains active today, preserving the celebration of the Minerva on third Sundays and the procession of Corpus Christi carrying custody under a canopy, with the construction of altars through the adorned streets and the custom of "throwing" small children as they pass of the Holy.

http://historiasdevillafafila.blogspot.com.es/2016/06/cofradias-de-villafafila-i-cofradia-del.html

Villafáfila: History and current situation of a Castilian-Leonese town and its parish churches, p . 456 and 457 .

All text, photographs, transcription and montage, the rights belong to their authors, any type of use is prohibited without authorization.

All text and photography has been authorized for storage, treatment, work, transcription and assembly to José Luis Domínguez Martínez, its dissemination on villafafila.net, and any other means that is authorized.

[1] Mortgages on real estate or censuses used to be referenced to 14,000 thousand, that is, for a mortgage loan on a house or land of 14,000 mrs. you had to pay 1,000 mrs of interest each year, that is, 7%. In the 17th century, interest was lowered to 20,000 per thousand, that is, 5%.

[2] In those years, Mrs. Tomasa Moreno, widow of Mr. Diego Hernández-Monroy, and their married son lived in the town. She would be a relative of his.

[3] Lorenzo Pinar FJ and Vasallo Toranzo L.: Diary of Antonio Moreno de la Torre (1673-1679). Zamora 2001.

[4] Taboada Olv. 267-1.