Thousands join 24th annual Way of the Cross processions in Brooklyn

Thousands of faithful followers flooded the streets of Brooklyn on Good Friday, April 19 to participate in Way of the Cross processions and commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Three separate processions throughout the borough helped mark a most holy day for Christians the world over.

The procession over the Brooklyn Bridge began at the first station of the cross at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, 25 Cathedral Place in Downtown Brooklyn, at 10 a.m. The procession then made its way to the other stations which were on the bridge, at City Hall Park, at Zuccotti Park, and finally at St. Peter’s Church in lower Manhattan, where final prayers were spoken.

Sponsored by Communion and Liberation, the procession was presided over by the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, bishop of Brooklyn and Father Richard Veras, ecclesiastical assistant for Communion and Liberation in New York.

Carrying the Cross were Joshua Layugan, a member of Communion and Liberation, and John Bartlett, a retired firefighter.

In Sheepshead Bay, worshippers gathered for morning mass at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, 2609 E. 19th St., before the Good Friday walk began.

It wended its way from the church to Sheepshead Bay and across the footbridge to Manhattan Beach where worshippers made a stop at St. Margaret Mary Church as well as the water’s edge for a brief prayer service, before returning to St. Mark’s, where parishioners were treated to soup and bread at the St. Mark school’s cafeteria.

The procession was led by St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish Parochial Vicar Rev. Michael Panicali, St. Mark Church pastor, Rev. Robert Mucci and members of the Knights of Columbus.

“It was an especially rewarding feeling to stop for prayers beside the water because Christ performed many of his miracles with water and water is essential to the teachings of our faith,” Panicali told this paper.

A third procession took place in the evening in Bensonhurst where hundreds of worshippers took to the streets. The procession began on 66th Street between 18th and 19th avenues and ended at Our Lady of Guadalupe, located at 15th Avenue and 72nd Street.

Following the procession, Msgr. David Cassato and Our Lady of Guadalupe Pastor Rev. Robert Romano spoke to the faithful about the meaning of Good Friday and the significance of symbolically walking the path of Jesus toward his crucifixion.

Bensonhurst
ebrooklyn media/Photos by Arthur de Gaeta