Lima's Lord of Miracles Opens Its October Processions as Thousands Follow the Image Through the Capital
LIMA - Thousands of Catholic worshippers joined the first Lord of Miracles procession of the year through central Lima on Saturday, October 3. After a midday Mass at the Church of Las Nazarenas, members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles, dressed in purple robes, carried the revered image into the streets on an ornate platform, with bearer teams rotating along the route, a marching band in attendance and women in purple carrying incense burners.
Devotion to the Lord of Miracles dates to the 17th century, and Lima holds multiple processions each October - the so-called Purple Month - in one of Peru's largest religious traditions. Devotees interviewed by the Associated Press at the scene said the tradition is passed from family to family and that many return every first Saturday of October; one woman said she had entrusted her daughter to the Lord shortly after her birth and had not missed a year in more than three decades.
This year's first procession coincided with an election weekend: ahead of the October 4 regional and municipal vote, a nationwide dry law ran from 8 a.m. on October 3 to 8 a.m. on October 5, suspending alcohol sales, and shows and public meetings were barred during voting hours on election day. The religious procession went ahead within the campaign-silence period, drawing a different kind of crowd to Lima's streets.
Further Lord of Miracles processions continue through October. For Lima's Chinese community, the month also brings the approach of the Double Ninth Festival, and the city's religious calendar and the community's elder-honouring traditions share the same weeks.
Sources: Compiled from the Associated Press video report from Lima on October 3, 2026, and the National Jury of Elections' dry-law notice carried by El Peruano and RPP.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 利马「奇迹之主」游行：紫衣信众抬着圣像穿过人群，Mililo2012 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
