Video of Holy Week procession in Spain goes viral as Pope Francis’ funeral

The viral video shows a Holy Week procession in Cartagena, Spain.

On 21 April 2025, Pope Francis died at the age of 88 at Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City. Following this, a video of a group of people dressed in black traditional religious robes with tall, pointed hoods walking in a procession is going viral on social media. The users who share the post claims the footage depicts Pope Francis’ satanic funeral.

The caption states, “Pope’s funeral. Looks more like a satanic ritual instead of a funeral. Black hoods and upside-down crosses. Nothing Cristian about this”!

Let’s check the truth

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Fact Check-

We started our investigation by running a relevant keyword and reverse image search on Google. The results led us to a  Facebook video titled “Semana Santa URDA 2024” (Holy Week URDA 2024), with Urda being a town in Spain. Such processions during Holy Week in Spain are very common, and participants indeed wear the distinctive “capirote” pointed hat.

Next, we searched using these hints, and found a YouTube video posted by Cartagena TV. It was a livestream from 16 April, 2025, showing the procession with participants wearing the same type of robes. At the timestamp of 2:07:42 of the video, the same inverted cross with the rooster in the middle is visible.

During the last week of Lent, leading up to Easter, hundreds of Catholic groups in cities and towns across Spain take part in traditional processions, celebrating the stories and lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. San Pedro Apóstol Group, a religious organization based in Cartagena that coordinates processions during Holy Week. The symbol of the group is the Cross of St. Peter, an inverted cross. It is in no way a “satanic symbol,” but rather the ancient Christian symbol representing the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter, who was crucified upside down. The pointed hat or “capirote” worn by the participants is also not a satanic symbol. Religious brotherhoods in Spain traditionally wear this hat during Holy Week processions as a sign of penance, a tradition dating back to the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century.

The video went viral before Pope Francis’ funeral on 26 April, 2025, casting doubt on its apparent connection to the event. Moreover, the live broadcast of Pope Francis’ funeral further confirms that no such procession occurred during the service.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be Misleading. The video does not show the funeral ceremony of Pope Francis. The viral video shows a Holy Week procession (Semana Santa) in Cartagena, Spain. This was captured before the Pope’s death, and has nothing to do with it.