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18 May 2007
BRUGES – About 30,000 people attended the Procession of the Holy Blood in the centre of Bruges on Thursday, about 5,000 fewer attendees than last year.
Bruges police say the event took place without incident.
The relic of the Holy Blood is carried around the provincial capital of West-Vlanderen every year on Ascension Day.
The relic was brought to Bruges by Thierry d’Alsace, Count of Flanders, in 1149. It had reportedly been given to him as a gift by the Patriarch of Jerusalem for his participation in the first crusade.
[Copyright Expatica News 2007]
Subject: Belgian news