Feast of Es Pa i es Peix (Bread and Fish) or pilgrimage of the Fourth Sunday

Feast evocative of the miracle of the loaves and fishes of Jesus, documented in the town of Sant Joan in 1621.

A one-kilometre walk from the parish church of the town (152m) to the sanctuary of La Consolació (168m), on the hill of the same name. To get there, you have to climb 108 steps along the wide cobbled path of Son Juny. This short itinerary is done in the company of the xeremiers of Sant Joan.

In the hermitage, a solemn mass is held in honor of the Virgin of Consolation, an offering of flowers and popular dances. You can buy the casques or coquettes, a star-shaped cake with five loaves of bread and two engraved fish, a custom that dates back to 1729.

It is a small hermitage, documented in 1249. It is therefore one of the oldest in Mallorca. A Romanesque side portal and a loophole are preserved from that time. The barrel vault dates from the late eighteenth century. The side chapels inside the temple are dedicated to the Holy Christ, Saint Dominic in Soriano (proper dedication of the Dominican order), Saint Onofre, Sant Marçal and Sant Llorenç. It was restored in 1966, with an extension of the chapel. The façade of the hermitage has a semicircular portal with voussoirs, preceded by an atrium, and a rose window. There are attached buildings, a porch, a cistern and sundials. According to legend, the image of the Virgin Mary was found on an undetermined date by a Moorish slave inside the stump of an olive tree.

The place is very welcoming. Around the hermitage there is a pine forest, a cemetery and a recreational area for picnics with barbecue, playground and space to play ball. There are also other services such as toilets and parking.

Joys to the Virgin of the Consolation of Sant Joan.

“Come, my children, I will console you.”

Phrase that appears on an exterior tile that also presents the image of the Virgin of Consolation.

 

Lyrics by Rafael Bordoy i Pomar (1936)

You are sweet and charming

like the song of the nightingale.

From You we wait, Lady,

love, peace and consolation.

 

When the moon of Solanda

On top of the sky it was kindled,

he put lace whiteness

on the green of the seedbed,

and a singing tune

intoned a flute.

From You we wait, Lady,

love, peace and consolation.

 

The herd that grazed

under the gaze of the shepherd,

the green leaves I searched

of the almond trees of the hill

and the fresh, sonorous water

that a fountain flowed.

From You we wait, Lady,

love, peace and consolation.

 

He illuminated the region

a silver clarity

luminous as the dawn,

like a shining star,

and more dazzling

than the brightness of the sun.

From You we wait, Lady,

love, peace and consolation. […]

 

You are a flattering mother,

of tenderness a stream.

From You we wait, Lady,

love, peace and consolation.