23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Procession to Calvary, painted in 1564, is one of his largest and most complex works. The oil on panel contains over 500 figures spread across a vast Flemish landscape. At first glance it appears almost like a busy village scene with farmers, merchants, and travelers going about their day. Yet at the heart of the crowd, small and easily missed, is Christ bearing His cross on the way to Calvary.

One of Bruegel’s most striking choices is to downplay Christ’s size and placement. Instead of placing Him prominently in the center as most Passion artists did, Bruegel almost hides Him in plain sight. The eye is first drawn to colorful details like the soldiers in bright red, villagers in lively groups, and windmills turning on the horizon. This forces the viewer to search for Christ, a deliberate decision that makes finding Him all the more powerful.

The painting is filled with fascinating groupings. At the lower right corner we find the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist, visually set apart from the noise of the crowd. Soldiers on horseback cut through the throng, ensuring the condemned make their way toward the hill of execution. Clouds gather and dark birds circle in the sky above, a chilling reminder of what is to come.

Bruegel’s decision to place the event in a contemporary Flemish setting adds to its immediacy. Instead of Jerusalem, we see rolling hills, rustic homes, and a windmill presiding over the hill of Calvary. For Bruegel’s audience, this made the Passion feel close to home, a part of everyday life rather than a distant story. It also allowed him to populate the scene with recognizable townsfolk, from peasants and beggars to wealthy onlookers, showing every layer of society present.

Small details scattered throughout the painting add both realism and irony. We find townsfolk at play, oblivious to the monumental event passing by. Others climb rocks and trees simply to catch a better view, as though attending a public spectacle. These touches reveal Bruegel’s sharp eye for human behavior. The Procession to Calvary is not just a Passion scene.  It is also a vivid study of humanity itself, bustling, distracted, and yet unwitting witnesses to salvation history.