Carpets of Holy Week Alfombras de Semana Santa
La Sagrada Familia Church 7719 Detroit Ave. Cleveland April 3, 2026
The 50th annual Good Friday Procession covered 3 churches in Cleveland on Good Friday 2026. It began at La Sagrada Familia Parish on Cleveland's West Side where the Alfombras de Semanta Santa were displayed. Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain also had Holy Week carpets.
The Diocese says that the carpets have been a Holy Week tradition for centuries in some parts of the world. Their origins are believed to be in Spain, but the custom is popular in Central America, especially Guatemala and El Salvador, where the diocese established a mission in 1964. The tradition took hold in the Cleveland Diocese about 30 years ago, when a group of Sacred Heart Chapel parishioners created the first carpets here. Father Rob Reidy, who is retired, served at the diocesan mission in El Salvador and ministered at both Sagrada Familia and Sacred Heart Chapel. He was instrumental in establishing the Carpets of Holy Week at the two parishes.
Here are some images of the sawdust carpets.
What is fascinating is that although it takes months for the parishes to plan and build the carpets, they are destroyed in a matter of minutes on Good Friday. The Good Friday procession marches over the carpets and they are destroyed. The Diocese says, "The destruction of the carpets is symbolic of the death of Jesus, who triumphed over sin and death to bring us salvation."
In this video you can see the sawdust carpets at Sagrada Familia and then the Procession with Bishop Woost starting the trampling. Then the procession follows and finally the volunteers start sweeping it up. Amazing!
Trampling the Holy Week Carpets on Good Friday
Sweeping the remnants of the Holy Week Carpets on Good Friday
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