Seville has a centuries-old tradition of celebrating the Holy Week, or Semana Santa as they call it, which begins with the procession on Palm Sunday. The members of the Catholic communities walk through the streets with heavy wooden statues depicting the Stations of the Cross, many of them wearing masks that represent the shame of sinful man. The unique series of events concludes with a celebration of the Miracle of the Resurrection in the magnificent Gothic cathedral of the Andalusian capital.

The photograph, taken in March 1951 by the renowned Hungarian photographer Juan Gyenes, shows Otto von Habsburg, who was linked to Spain through a thousand ties, drifting with the celebrating crowds. The lens of the master is focused, suggestively, not on him but on the repentant figure in black hood.

With the end of the Lent period which has been quieter in Hungary just as in other parts of Europe, the Otto von Habsburg Foundation wishes you a blessed Easter and a happy holiday.