Tradition / Region: Andorran Mythology
Alternate Names: Black Procession
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Comitiva Fantasmal is a ghostly procession of dark, human-like figures that appears as a supernatural punishment for irreverence and mockery of sacred rites. It manifests as a silent, solemn group dressed in black, moving with ritual precision and carrying holy objects.
The legend tells of a group of young men who, feeling offended after being denied their own religious procession on Corpus Christi, decided to create a parody. They constructed a fake monstrance and imitated a sacred procession, singing and praying in a mocking but ceremonious way as they walked toward the hill of La Quera.
After completing their imitation, they stopped to rest and began laughing at what they had done. At that moment, they heard movement along the same path they had just taken. When they looked, they saw a second procession approaching.
This time it was real, but not human.
A silent line of figures dressed entirely in black advanced up the hill. They carried a true monstrance, surrounded by flowers, and at its center shone a radiant host with an intense, unnatural light. The entire scene had a heavy, otherworldly presence.
Overcome with terror, the young men fled in panic, believing they were witnessing a divine or supernatural punishment. They did not stop running until they reached the village.
After this event, the place became feared, and for many years no one dared to travel that path. The ghostly procession came to be understood as a manifestation of sacred forces correcting human disrespect, appearing not as chaos, but as a perfect and solemn imitation of the sacred — far more real than the living.
Sources
Valls, À., & Carol, R. (2023). Llegendes d’Andorra. In Encamp-Montellà: Anem Editors p. 74.