Christians gathered in downtown Ottawa to mark Good Friday with the Way of the Cross procession. Hundreds of parishioners were led through the Stations of the Cross in a procession that included reflections, readings, prayers and songs. “It allows me to enter into the sacrifice that has been made by Jesus. It’s really just for me to unite myself to that sacrifice, knowing that he made it for me out of love, like for me personally,” says Mariana Nandayapa, who participated in the procession. Rosalinda Garcia, says she participates in the Stations of the Cross every year, a family tradition she carries on from the Philippines. “This is my faith. It’s my devotion to the passion of Christ,” Garcia says. The annual tradition is organized by Communion and Liberation Ottawa and was led by the Rev. Marcel Damphousse, the Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall. “This is the day where we really get to enter deeply into the notion of sacrifice, which is a word that can have different meanings for different people but also where sacrifice can lead to something good, something that’s in this case, to life,” says Daniel Richardsen, co-organizer of the procession. “The sacrifice of Christ, we believe, is what leads us to truer life and restores our humanity. This day is really being at the heart of meditating on that truth.” The procession began at the Saint Patrick Basilica and made stops at the Supreme Court of Canada, Parliament Hill, the National Gallery of Canada and concluded with a service at Notre Dame Cathedral. Pietro Sacca, one of the cross bearers, says the task might be a little painful but it’s worth it. “It’s a big sense of responsibility but in this time of wars and sadness, it’s the right time to reflect,” says Sacca. Good Friday marks the day Christians believe Jesus was crucified and is one of the holiest and most sacred days in the Christian faith. Good Friday is part of a three-day period that commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and culminates on Easter Sunday. “This weekend, to me, just means victory and love that I get to be united to that love again,” says Nandayapa. “We were created for this relationship and Jesus restores that and he invites us into that. We get to choose that for ourselves this weekend.” Other processions took place in cities across the globe and in Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver.
