While driving down the coast of Croatia and exploring the coastal town of Split, we decided to try catching a ferry over to the island of Hvar. However, when we arrived at the ferry terminal, we found out that all the ferries for that day were sold out. Confused as to why, we were sitting outside the ferry office when we overheard another tourist mention that it was because of the Procession. Intrigued, we looked into it and discovered that we had unknowingly tried to visit the island on one of its busiest days of the year—Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.

Still determined to get to the island, we saw that another ferry ran from a small town called Makarska, a little over an hour away, to the southern part of Hvar. We made the drive and tried our luck there. Sure enough, there were far fewer tourists, and we were able to secure a spot for our car. Once on the island, we started driving northwest toward some of the more prominent towns, where we had originally planned to explore a few via ferratas and other attractions. As we drove, we dug deeper into the meaning of the procession.

It turns out that The Procession is a 500+ year-old tradition in which people walk through the night, following cross bearers from village to village. It takes around eight hours and covers nearly 25 kilometers. As we passed through small villages, we saw locals lighting candles along the roads in preparation for the pilgrims. On a whim, we decided to head to the town of Jelsa to witness the event firsthand.

When we arrived, thousands of people were gathered outside the church, waiting for the cross bearers. Many had come prepared with food, water, and other supplies for the long night ahead. We joined the crowd and waited. Eventually, chanting began, and the procession started. The cross bearers passed, followed by waves of pilgrims—and we joined them, too.

We only walked a few miles, but it was a surreal experience. One that felt too sacred to film, and so it lives only in our memory. Some people walked the full distance; others simply stood quietly along the road as the procession passed. Had we been more prepared, it would have been incredible to complete the pilgrimage ourselves. But as outsiders, we didn’t want to intrude on something so meaningful.

We had originally planned to sleep in our car that night but became concerned that the procession might pass us by. So we spent a while picking a spot we felt confident wouldn’t get in the way. Jelsa wasn’t the only starting point — each village has its own procession that visits neighboring towns in turn. There were thousands of pilgrims walking across the island that night, and we felt deeply humbled to take part, even in a small way, in a tradition that dates back to at least the 1600s.