August 26 Romería pilgrimage to the monastery of San Gines de la Jara in Cartagena

The feast day of the patron saint of Cartagena falls on August 25

August 25 is the feast day of the patron saint of Cartagena, San Ginés de la Jara, and a series of events are held every year to commemorate the occasion, based in the San Ginés district in the east of the city.

The schedule for the 2023 celebrations includes the following:

Thursday August 24

19.30: Offering of fruit and local produce in the local church before the opening speech of the festivities is given and slush puppies are handed out to everyone present.

Friday August 25

The day begins with Mass and the procession of the figure of the saint in Avenida Ingeniero de la Cierva: all are welcome to attend, in traditional costume if possible! “San Ginés” bread rolls and chocolate rolls are on sale.

Saturday August 26

10.00: Prior to the traditional “romería”, a floral offering and a blessing of the roads in the local church, with chocolate buns for all.

The preliminaries over with, it’s time to set out on the long walk to the monastery of San Ginés de la Jara, 16 kilometres to the east on the way to the Mar Menor. Stops will be made at La Aparecida, Los Camachos, Estrecho de San Ginés and Monte Miral, a site of particular importance in the legend of San Ginés.

Once at the monastery, camp is set up for the evening as participants enjoy their dinner under the stars.

San Ginés de la Jara

Not much is known for certain about San Ginés de la Jara, but he is mostly associated with the area of Cartagena and particularly the inland shore of the Mar Menor. Ruins of a monastery dating from before the Moorish conquest of southern Spain in 711 AD have been found near the Mar Menor and are mentioned in Moorish writings during the following 500 years.

There is widespread evidence that various sites of religious significance in the area date from the Carthaginian worship of the god Ba'al and some places were later associated with Christian sites: this remains a possibility as no shrine to Ginés has been found. Indeed, some scholars maintain that he is in fact the same person as Saint Genesius of Arles in France, who died a martyr’s death in the 4th century.

One text from 1242 states that the remains of St Genesius were buried in Arles but that his head was carried “in the hands of angels” to Cartagena. This might seem far-fetched, but another version suggests that after he had been decapitated – yes, AFTER – he threw his head into the River Rhône, from where it was carried by sea currents to the coast of Murcia.

Among the legends surrounding his life is the story that at some point he settled as a hermit in a tiny home on Monte Miral, the hilltop next to the site where the monastery which bears his name still stands. This monastery was restored after the Moors had been ousted from Murcia in 1243 and was rebuilt in the 16th century. Since then Ginés has become a patron saint of vintners and sailors and is often invoked to protect against hernias and storms.

He was canonized by Pope Paul III in 1541 and was adopted as patron saint of Cartagena in 1677 after the local government selected his name by random ballot and pleaded to him for clemency in the face of an epidemic which was claiming the lives of children in the area.

Images: Felipe G. Pagán, Ayuntamiento de Cartagena

For more local news, events, history and visiting information go to the Cartagena section of Murcia Today.