Philip II died in the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial on September 13, 1598, after a long agony. Before breathing his last, like most of his contemporaries, he had detailed in his will everything that was to be done afterward. Among other things, he had ordered that 20,000 Masses be celebrated for his salvation. The more Masses, the less time in purgatory, the Church said.

By Easter weekThe streets of Pineda de Mar, in the Maresme region, are packed to the brim to follow one of the processions that inspires the greatest devotion and enthusiasm in all of Catalonia. It moves on to the Poblenou neighborhood, far from the municipality's historic center, where many working-class families live. Every year, during the Easter holidays, they take to the streets and balconies to follow the footsteps of Christ and the Virgin Mary with silence, applause, and emotion. The procession is organized by the Poblenou brotherhood, linked to the neighborhood parish, which this year celebrates its fortieth anniversary, at a moment of maximum splendor: far from declining and losing followers, the brotherhood continues to grow, especially after the pandemic, and adds more than 300 members from all those participating in this festivity.