Cofradía Cristo “El Morenet” de los Hombres del Mar
Year of Foundation: 1996
Canonical See: Hermitage of Our Lady of Socorro
Images:
Crucified Christ • Anonymous 16th • 17th century
Shield:
We can find an anchor as the main axis from which a cross emanates on its rod and its stocks, the anchor is inside a lifebuoy surrounded by ropes, which includes the name by which the owner of the brotherhood is popularly known "El Morenet ”. All flanked by two oars and topped by a Crown of Thorns, symbol of the passion of Christ. Most of the elements of this shield refer to the historical link of the Brotherhood with the old fishermen of the popular Alicante neighborhood of Raval Roig.
Dress:
It is traditional for this Brotherhood to wear the monastic habit, composed of a Vesta and hood in Alicante blue, the hood with the inner lining in white, they also wear a white chasuble with the shield of the brotherhood embroidered in the center. It is complemented by a red cord tied at the waist, white socks and gloves, and characteristic monastic sandals.
History:
The brotherhood was founded in 1997 by residents of the Alicante neighborhood of Raval Roig, although its antecedents come from the old fishermen's brotherhoods of the 18th century, specifically the so-called brotherhood of Santiago and San Andrés. It arises in the hermitage of the Virgen del Socorro, whose origins date back to the Knights Templar who built it.
The titular passage is made up of the image of a crucified man who, due to his dark color, has always been popularly known by the name of “El Morenet” (“Little Brunette”). It is a suspiciously late Gothic carving towards which the sailors who inhabited this enclave felt special devotion. At the moment the aforementioned image is under study by technicians to confirm its age and origins.
On March 10, 1996, at the initiative of the residents of Raval Roig and with the support of the parish priest of Santa María, the parish to which the Hermitage of the Virgen del Socorro belongs, the procession of Christ "El Morenet" was returned to his house, the new hermitage built in the neighborhood, from the Church of Santa María, where it had been deposited since the demolition of the original building in 1973, the Virgen del Socorro, patron saint of the neighborhood, also participating in the procession.
This transfer was the seed for the constitution of a Holy Week brotherhood in the neighborhood around the image, which would be definitively constituted on November 26, 1996.
Although its statutes would be legalized on August 26, 1997, this Brotherhood participates as such in the processional parades on Holy Monday, March 24, 1997.
It is interesting to read the history of this neighborhood and the devotions born in it. The arrival of the Virgen del Lluch from Mallorca, the subsequent replacement by the dedication of Socorro (the Mare de Deu del Socós), the passage of the Templars, the Augustinians, the foundation of the Fishermen's Brotherhood of San Pedro and San Jaime. .. All of this can be useful to understand its inhabitants and the importance it had in the origins of Alicante.
Musical contribution to Holy Week
- The Christ Morenet • Bernabé Sanchís Sanz. Dedicated to the Brotherhood of the same name. Procession march premiered on March 12, 1999. Recorded on the CD "Our Music" from the year 2000.
- Prayer to Christ El Morenet • Bernabé Sanchís Sanz. Lyrics by Rafael Vizcaíno. Handwritten date on the score: 2005.