La Beata is really La Beateta, a six-year-old girl. | Archives
Of the various fiestas for Santa Catalina Thomàs, La Beata, none of them owe anything to the dates for her birth or death or for her beatification and canonisation.
Valldemossa, her birth place, holds its fiestas at the end of July. These are marked by the procession of the ‘triumphal carriage’, the occupants of which are young chlldren. La Beata is really La Beateta, a six-year-old girl.
In Palma, there is also a triumphal carriage with young children. In addition to which there are the likes of demons, pipers, bands of music, and what have you. There has been a Palma procession since 1792, the year of the saint’s beatification, but it is arguably less well known than the processions in Valldemossa or Santa Margalida.
Coinciding with the 450th anniversary of the beatification of Saint Catalina Tomàs, various events are being held and this year the procession of the Beata will see a record number of participants, reaching up to 1,000 people.