Santo Ecce Homo de Popayán, Religious wooden sculpture in Popayán, Colombia.
Santo Ecce Homo de Popayán is a full-size wooden figure depicting Jesus Christ wearing golden crowns and holding a reed. The original rests in the Sanctuary of Belén, while a replica from the 1960s is used in the city's religious processions.
The original image was bought in San Juan de Pasto by Juan Antonio de Velasco, who finished it in Popayán, where it arrived in 1680. He and his wife Jerónima de Velasco kept it for thirty years for domestic worship and lent it for the cathedral's Holy Week procession. In 1717 the family gave it to the cathedral, and it was then permanently installed in the Sanctuary of Belén.
The annual feast is run by the Junta Pro Culto al Santo Ecce Homo, founded in 1938. Two processions are held: the first goes from the Sanctuary of Belén to the Church of San Francisco, where women traditionally carry candles, and the second returns from San Francisco to Belén, led by the men. The image is also called El Amito.
Visitors can see the original in the Sanctuary of Belén, while processions take place at different times of the year. It helps to ask locally about procession dates to experience this cultural event.
The original image was damaged by woodworm, prompting former president Guillermo León Valencia to commission a replica from Spanish sculptor José Lamiel. Lamiel moved to Popayán in 1960 and took six years to complete the copy, which now parades during Holy Week while the original stays in the Sanctuary of Belén.
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