It was a simple gesture of love and desire to walk the Way of the Cross this year on Good Friday on the campus of Notre Dame with the South Bend community. We printed extra booklets with the hope that those we invited would join us in marking this important moment. By the last station over 80 people were with us: families, colleagues, friends, and of course, Him. And, as Fr. Prades reminded us in the first station, “we then begin also to say with Him to the Father, ‘Here we are’, more exactly, ‘here I am; I am, we are ready to follow you.’

Stephen, South Bend, IN



Approximately 200 people gathered in Saint Cloud to pray the Way of the Cross with Bishop Patrick M. Neary, C.S.C., the Bishop of Saint Cloud. The prayerful procession served as a powerful and moving way to enter into the solemnity of the Easter Triduum. It was a beautiful witness of faith and community.

Jonathan, Saint Cloud, MN



The CL community of Miami gathered for our Way of the Cross procession along the hard sand of South Beach on the morning of Good Friday. Our group was composed of 40 people who followed the wooden cross. Our journey was marked by songs, meditation, and silence. About 10 of us joined the Way of the Cross for the first time, and a few passerby people also walked silently and stood with us, one of them even kneeling in front of the Cross. What struck us most was the obedience with which all participants followed the gesture so closely, a sign of the shared affection we have for Him.

Matteo and Jose Pedro, Miami, FL



In the last two years, as I’ve gone from being a newlywed to having two little ones under the age of two, I have come to appreciate the commitment of others more deeply. There are so many things that vie for our attention, our commitment, our “yes”! On that very windy Good Friday, as we walked the over hour long route through the streets of downtown Tulsa, I was moved by the “yes” of every person there. Each of us had committed to be there—the small choir, the cross bearer, myself with my littles. Each heart had said “yes” to being there, and Christ knew the reasons for each of us, as He knew mine. Aware of their “yes,” I gazed at the cross at the head of the procession. He gathers up all our “yeses” to Him no matter how small. He is King, He is Lord of Reality. He has won it all. With all our capacity to say “yes” He will accomplish so much, for He is here now and He is faithful. With our small gathering, He will continue to accomplish so much.

Monica, Tulsa, OK



This year a small group of CL folks and about 30 parishioners of St. Agatha parish did the Way of the Cross in the Sellwood neighborhood of SE Portland.

Patrick, Portland, OR



Here in Sacramento, we held our annual Way of the Cross. It provoked me to consider how it is truly a missionary gesture. As part of the mission, we invited our friends, new and old, to join us, some for the first time. As we followed the Cross in silence, through the heart of our city, to the state capitol building, and finally to the steps of Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, we proclaimed the Good News of Christ. We served as witnesses here in our city, to one another
and to all those who saw us. Happy Easter, and God bless!

Danny, Sacramento, CA



This year our School of Community in Rochester, NY hosted the Good Friday Way of the Cross procession from St. John's Church to St. Ambrose, walking through the city streets. We were a humble group of about 35 people. Some participants were pushing walkers, others were pushing strollers. I am grateful for all the years I participated in the Way of the Cross in New York City as it made my heart long for the same experience here, and it is the same experience. To follow Christ in unity fills my heart with gratitude and joy.

Rita, Rochester, NY



The Greenville, South Carolina community gathered at Heartridge Retreat Center for a Way of the Cross around the lake. In addition to our CL community, we were joined by friends from many local Church communities. Afterwards we all gathered for a simple lunch of lentil soup and hot cross buns. As a father, I was struck by how all the children followed us around the lake, sometimes stopping to listen to a song, or to run to their parents arms, but most of the time just playing with sticks and looking at the water - but we were together. Whether we were aware of it or not, we were participating in Christ's passion together.

Gabe, Greenville, SC



Image: Boston Herald

Gratitude is what I experienced at this year’s Way of the Cross in the streets of Boston. I was grateful to be part of the choir and grateful to my husband who made it possible for me to go to rehearsals on the weekends preceding Good Friday. It was also a gift to sing with my 13-year-old daughter while my husband took care of the other 5 kids during the procession!

Being part of the choir is beautiful because through the meditations and the songs we sing, one is able to focus, meditate and pray during the Way of the Cross. This year it was a beautiful spring morning and following the Cross through the streets of Boston was simple because I knew that I was accompanied by the crowd, the Cross bearer and the silence. I was moved to watch the people we bumped into as we walked following the Cross. A kid asked his parents - what are these people doing? Another asked- what is going on? Why are these people gathered together? I even bumped into my student who waved and in her eyes I could see she was surprised to see me in Boston following the Cross. We might talk about this when I return to school after Easter vacation!

Finally it was humbling to see Archbishop Henning walk with us and do the Way of the Cross like us. It made me consider this moment in a more personal way. I am grateful to Father Giussani who has always educated us to organize the Way of the Cross with beautiful profound meditations and intentional music that help stay in front of Jesus on the Cross. Being in the choir is always eventful- as our choir director told us- just enjoy the music, be here and it will be beautiful. And it was!

Monica, Boston, MA



The Way of the Cross this year reminded us that life is a journey in which we are following Christ. This theme of following emerged in several aspects of the gesture.

First of all, we were following the Cross. At the beginning of the walk, we invited everyone to stay behind the choir in order to keep an orderly precession; during the walk, some people started to walk past and reached the front of the line, but they could go no further than the Cross, simply because they did not know what the next steps would be: the Cross was the inexorable presence to which we all had to obey.

We were also following a tradition handed to us from the Church through the history of the Movement and the teachings of Fr. Giussani. As we were preparing the booklets for printing, we rediscovered how purposeful and intense this gesture is, prepared by an entire people that came before us.
A third aspect that we noticed was our kids: they were following silently during the walk, with the older ones keeping an eye on their small siblings. Where did they learn to pay attention for two hours, walking under the sun, in silence? They were following the witness of their parents, of the community.

We desire to follow Christ every day with the same intensity and depth experienced in this Way of the Cross, in order to never be separated from Him.

Qui, presso a Te, Signore
Restar vogl'io!
Here, beside You, Lord
I want to stay!

Community, Columbus, OH



This year an eight person choir rehearsed for several months in advance and led the hymns, which significantly augmented the beauty of the experience of the Way of the Cross. We were also blessed to have a TOR (Third Order Regular) friar accompany us and preach a strong “fervorino” at the outset that urged us to enter the silence in front of "God dying for us."

Stephen, Steubenville, OH



This year, for the Way of the Cross in Houston, we were joined by an estimated 400 people for our 2.5 mile walk through the heart of the city, starting at the University of St.Thomas, continuing onto Holy Rosary Parish, then on to Catholic Charities and concluding at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. We were greeted by Bishop Italo Dell’Oro there. This year, the organizers prepared the Gospel readings, reflections, and music with a particular attention to the Year of Mercy as Pilgrims of Hope. The simplicity of this ancient chant, as Bishop Erik Varden suggests, reveals the Cross—and Christ’s suffering—not as something to avoid, but as something “lovable and dear.” This transformed our walk into something more than a physical effort—it became an invitation to enter the procession with this awareness.Walking in the Texas heat, over uneven pavement, and remaining mindful of both those behind me and those who have walked this path before me, deepened my reflection. The ancient chants that we sang showed me that the simple wood of the Cross has been forever changed by Christ’s triumph over death. What once signified suffering now becomes a sign of victory and love. As we walked through the city, I saw the community and those carrying their daily crosses in a new light, but as places and people through which I can encounter Christ’s gratuitous love. It was a beautiful reminder that the Cross truly is lovable and dear.

Emiliana, Houston, TX



This Holy Week was unique for me. On the Friday before Good Friday I received three calls in less than an hour: three people had passed away, one a thirteen year-old boy. A new intensity, a call to a deeper awareness of the mystery of Holy Week was given to me. Walking the Way of the Cross with a community of people who were also struck by these events gave this gesture a new timbre. It became more clear to me, especially as I preached on Psalm 23 at these funerals (“…even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me”) that the Way we walk is not a pious, sentimental sharing in Jesus’ journey and suffering and destiny. Rather, it is Jesus’ sharing in ours. Jesus enters into our journey and accompanies us on our way, gives us a companionship that allows us to walk our way. As Benedict XVI said, “The true shepherd is one who knows even the path that passes through the valley of death … [T]here is One who even in death accompanies me, and with His ‘rod and His staff comforts me,’ so that ‘I fear no evil’ (cf. Ps 23:4).”

Fr. Michael, St. Paul Church, Lyons, KS



The Way of the Cross was marked by an overwhelming gratitude for me. I have been singing and helping with the Way of the Cross for 29 years (I had to calculate and still can't believe it's been so long). I have sung and walked in seven cities, spread over three countries. I have walked alone, and then also with a husband and, our now five children ...several grown, all big enough that they are now helpful. My daughters read and sang, my oldest son ran and set up the sound at each station, even with the flu and a 102 degree fever. I have walked through blizzards in Chicago, though now enjoy the perfect weather in the South...except for a torrential downpour that we had a few years ago. This year was perfect except that so many in my family are carrying crosses larger than I can fathom. So what strikes me is gratitude, gratitude that I can walk, gratitude that I can offer my (relatively) small crosses. Such gratitude leads me to ask to remember this all year long, to feel gratitude and to offer everything I can for those I love. It reminds me that the greatest gift I can give is my offering, no matter how simple it may be.

Maria, Durham, NC



Something that struck me this year was the neighbors that either stepped out of their homes and stood in their yards or came down from their front doors to join us. I had never seen this happen before. When we were at the third station, a man and his son came over and joined us and prayed with us. A worker at the liquor store asked what was going on so I told her what we were doing. She seemed a bit confused, like she didn't even know it was Good Friday or what Good Friday was. A kid got off the school bus at his stop and shouted, "Hey, what's going on over there!?" People sitting outside at the bars we passed gazed at us and nodded their acknowledgements. We took a small part in a beautiful witness that was for everyone.

Roland, Evansville, IN



On a sunny and breezy Good Friday evening our Tampa Bay community commenced our Way of the Cross in downtown St. Petersburg. Tracing a two mile route through the leisure-center of the city, 15 of us walked in silence along the shoreline of Tampa Bay. We stopped at various 'landmarks' familiar to locals-- the Bayan tree on Beach Drive, the bridge to Demens Landing, the geodesic dome of the Dali museum. A handful of passersbys gave us a nod or crossed themselves, affirming the value of our exercise. It was such a beautiful evening-- is it legal to call it the Way of the Cross when it's a walk in the park, literally, and follows the downtown shoreline? We do our best. This year one woman was attracted to our prayer and song under the Banyan tree-- she followed us for another mile, to the end. And personally, I was grateful for the chance to follow the proposal and affirm my belonging -- enduring the tiniest sliver of the pain and suffering of Christ by accepting the awkwardness of a public procession.

Joe, Tampa, FL



The Way of the Cross has always been a special moment for me, because ever since my experience with GS, I have been struck by this event held every year through the streets of Santarcangelo di Romagna in Italy. A moment lasting five hours, gathering thousands of people from all over the country, with intense songs and prayers, and many moments of deep silence. Every year, even during university, I would return to witness that testimony with my own eyes and to take part in it. Last year, I arrived in Chicago and was immediately involved in the organization of the Way of the Cross, first helping with the audio setup and then this year serving as an usher. Just like last year, this year I also came to the Way of the Cross seeking that sincere, profound, and powerful witness that I had encountered years before — a witness given in the streets of the world, walking openly through the road of a metropolis like Chicago.

From the very beginning in St. Peter's Church, through the readings and songs that were proposed to us, I was once again moved by this event. In particular, the silent procession through the streets of downtown toward the Cathedral reminded me of the extraordinary nature of a silent and gentle force that entered history two thousand years ago. An event that continues to happen today in our daily lives and that, throughout the year, reaches its culmination during the Easter Triduum. Once again this year, it gathered many people with the desire to bear witness, to themselves and to the world, the newness of that event. As written in this year’s Easter flyer, thanks to this event, "everything has a positivity […], is a good that is about to be born on the edge of our horizon as men." The Way of the Cross was another way to remember that, despite the crosses each of us carries in our daily lives, an element of newness — one that does not erase but accompanies these struggles and pains, that prevents them from turning into despair and instead rehabilitates them as steps toward the Mystery — has entered history and continues to enter our lives every day.

Luca, Chicago, IL



A group of dedicated followers gathered at St. Margaret Mary's Church on the morning of Good Friday to reflect on the meaning of the day. The group of nearly 65 people included a priest, lay people, young mothers, children, and grandparents. We met in a beautiful, darkened church where the commemoration began with prayer, song, and readings centered around the theme of Christ’s Passion. We silently followed the Cross outside and processed east towards Memorial Park under grey skies. The blustery, cold wind offered a modicum of pain, which was appropriate to accept and offer up in reparation for my sins, knowing the sacrifice of comfort connects us with Christ our Redeemer, who suffered perfectly, patiently, and gracefully. Several cars driving along busy Dodge Street honked as they passed. The songs and readings could be heard echoing across the open, grassy field as the group followed the Way of the Cross around the perimeter of the park. The event concluded with a final prayer in the courtyard of St. Margaret Mary’s, between the school and the church building, across from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Ben, Omaha, NE



The Kansas Way of the Cross has become a fixed point of how our local communities in Atchison, Kansas, and Lawrence live the Triduum. Our Way does not attract great crowds, it attracts mostly people well familiar to the life of the Movement in Kansas. This year we were about 50 people, a handful of families with small children, young adults and some straggling CLU from Benedictine College; in addition, three Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George joined us from Atchison.

As we do every year, we were graciously met by Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr., Bishop of Kansas City, Missouri. We gathered in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the Bishop's blessing in the form of words of paternal affection to us and in the prayers and incecensing of our Cross. Then we set out on our Way through the streets of the city. As usual we had beautiful and interesting encounters along the way and it was evident that our Way did, in some sense, touch the wounds of the city. A huge effort was made this year to make the singing as beautiful as possible, and it was. After an hour and a half we made our way back to where we began at the Cathedral. We arrived just as Bishop Johnston's Good Friday service was beginning. We had intentionally changed the time of our Way to end in this way and as a community to celebrate the liturgy with the Bishop who has embraced us for so many years.

Aaron, Kansas City, KS



This year we wanted to invite our parish to the Way of the Cross with a note in the parish bulletin. It was not easy, the current pastor is on a temporary assignment until July and did not want us to go outside the boundaries of the parish for safety reasons. We reluctantly accepted the constraint, even if we really wanted a public gesture.

However, a lot of people came, about 150 and that was really surprising. Our pastor carried the Cross for a couple of Stations and a seminarian, too. It was a simple gesture, done in silence. Fr. Raja, the pastor, asked for a last minute change, to finish the gesture in the Church, not outside and that was really a sign of appreciation for the proposal.

Marco, Santa Rosa Beach, FL



The CL Way of the Cross is a time of personal reflection in the shadow of the agony of Our Lord for me. I reflect on how I receive the gifts given to me, how I am carrying my crosses, how well am I listening to the desires of my heart, and how am I responding to them. I am grateful for this annual tradition as a time of being present with Christ just before he transforms our suffering into our redemption and His Eternal Glory. “Solvitur ambulando.”

Jamie, Wichita, KS


Image: Jason Smith

On Good Friday, a snowstorm did not prevent about 100 people, including families with young children, priests from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo, religious sisters, and teenagers, from following the Cross through the streets of downtown Denver. It was a visible and moving sign of the same love that we receive by contemplating Christ’s passion. Finding shelter under the pillars of Voorhies Memorial in Civic Center Park, The Denver Post building, the balcony of the RTD Station, and the Capitol Center’s patio for the four stations, before ending around the St. John Paul the Great statue outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the Way of the Cross was an event of a people, which witnessed again, in a world marked by conflicts, violence, and deep divisions, that the unity of the believers is a sign that He is risen. By rising, the Son of Man generates a people, which indomitably journeys in life, although imperfect and thus humble, and yet, certain that, as we meditated through the words of the Servant of God Father Luigi Giussani, “Christ, the light of our life, helps us in our journey. We are rebellious, but we cannot nullify the strength of his love for us, with which he pursues us. Let us implore his help. He says, ‘Here I am!’ His presence is our joy. His joy is our strength. It is the joy of a love that at the end will win.”

Community, Denver, CO



On Good Friday our Community gathered for our annual Way of the Cross. In the booklet we read, "It was a Friday just like any other Friday," and yet something new happened. New people from St. Joseph's Church, and from the local community, followed their friends and participated in the Way of the Cross. Through this gesture, I was reminded of the significance of Christ's victory in my life and in the world as we walked the public streets with cars passing, many whose faces I recognized. I won't ever fully know the effect such a public gesture has on those observers, but maybe that isn't the point anyway. Through the Way of the Cross I recognized that it was a Friday that has forever changed me because of Christ's sacrifice and His resurrection.

Jim, Crosby, MN



I entered into the Way of the Cross this year, with my usual initial emotion: it’s a lot of effort to bring the kids through the city from station to station for what feels like minimal return I barely listened to a full song, prayed from the heart, or was able to contemplate anything about the Lord’s Passion. But for all my cynicism, laziness, and frustration, there were a couple moments that struck out to me. The first was that there were so many faces I did not recognize. Who are these people? Who invited them? I also noticed that the Southern Maryland community had joined. As I come to know that community more, I find myself growing in affection for them. And to see them there - who had to make even more of an effort than I provoked me.

And then there were other beautiful moments which broke through my malaise, like listening to the piercingly beautiful, “Voi ch'amate lo Criatore”, which called me out of the chaos for a few stanzas. And while I wished to listen to more of the meditations, or one in full, there were a few lines here and there that I was able to understand and ponder briefly. There is also the public dimension of the Way of the Cross. In DC, we often get asked if we’re a protest. It was something different to simply remind people that it’s Good Friday and invite them to join in remembrance. Finally, there is the visual of the Cross itself. The Cross held high ahead, with a large following behind, and around me, the faces of people accompanying each other on this journey together.

When we got back in the car I asked my husband, “why do we do this?” We're tired and hungry, and it’s such an effort for the family. Do these brief moments of beauty make the sacrifice worth it? I ask this question, but am also reminded that perhaps I don’t “need” to meditate more, or pray more deeply. Perhaps Christ is putting me here too - in the mess, the distraction, the exhaustion, the sacrifice.

So in the car, I asked my husband “why do we do this?” And he said simply, “maybe it’s good that we suffer on Good Friday.”

Ginamarie, Washington, DC



No matter how many times I have attended the Way of Cross, the experience is something new because I am able to understand the words we read more deeply. And no matter how much I fret about organizational details, once it starts I am able to set those thoughts aside and try to fully live in the present. There are two moments that always strike me, but this year, they literally gave me the chills: Giussani's passage about Peter’s denial and Péguy’s brief paragraph about the arms of Christ as the arms of the cross. As I was listening to the words, I realized I have denied Him hundreds and thousands of times; I am hammering the nails into His hands like a blind machine. And yet, like Peter, I can say, “yes, Lord, I love you,” and contrary to Peter, I do know how: I have been given a place, a people really, with whom to carry my daily crosses. As I walked the Way of the Cross in silence, I knew I am not alone in this journey.

Marinella, Montgomery, AL



We began holding this Way of the Cross 28 years ago, when we first arrived on the island. The first time, Monsignor Albacete was still with us during his year in Puerto Rico.

Since that first Way of the Cross with Msgr. Albacete, we started holding our procession in a field in the south of the island, just a few kilometers from Ponce, where a small community was beginning to flourish. At a time when some cities were starting to hold the Stations amidst traffic and noise, we continued in the traditional way, just as Don Giussani used to do — in the middle of the fields, with readings from Péguy and the Bible as well as reflections and songs in Latin.

Little by little, the locals began to join us, and now, after 27 years in the same place, it has truly become an expression of the community and its people. Some began to follow us, some to sing in Latin and to appreciate Péguy… and these photos show a hundred people listening in silence — in a town accustomed to the lively rhythms of salsa — not as spectators of someone else’s story, but as participants in a story that has now become their own.

Daniel, Ponce, Puerto Rico



This year, walking the Way of the Cross right in the heart of downtown LA, surrounded by the energy of a bustling city, while participating in something so contemplative and sacred, was deeply moving, particularly seeing the contrast between the spiritual reflection and the noise. There was something powerful about seeing new people stepping into this tradition for the first time, especially in such a public space. The people in our surroundings made each station feel even more grounded in the real world, a world going on as usual, unaware, or indifferent to the suffering unfolding in its midst. Participating in this gesture was, for me, like bringing the Passion of Christ into today’s everyday chaos, a concrete reminder of Christ’s love for me through His sacrifice, for which I am forever grateful.

Edwin, Los Angeles, CA


Image: Ginny Darling

Once again this year, the Way of the Cross procession in Rochester, Minnesota, wended its way through the streets of Downtown Rochester, past the Mayo Clinic, with stops at the Government Center, the Peace Plaza, and ending at the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. A dedicated group of volunteers assisted with every aspect with the reading of the moving words of Fr. Giussani, Scripture, and Péguy and accompanied by a choir that sang "Somo Conforto," "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed." Monsignor Gerald Mahon led the procession until it ended at the Co-Cathedral, which co-sponsored the event along with Communion and Liberation. This annual procession remains a sign of hope in the Risen Christ.

Peg, Rochester, MN

"The desperate, horrifying cry of Jesus for Judas: on the Way of the Cross in Marion, KS. I felt it for everyone walking, everyone in the small town. I felt it aimed at me."

Fr. Isaac, Marion, KS

“St. Ambrose Catholic Church combined with five other Christian churches in Erie, Kansas for an ecumenical Good Friday walk, inspired by the CL Way of the Cross. It was a success in its first year, in which about 50 people followed a Cross being carried through downtown, including walking by the bank, courthouse, and city hall. The walk consisted of six stations, where we stopped to sing a verse of a hymn and listen to a monologue of a character from the Passion, such as Simon of Cyrene, Peter, the Centurion, or the Blessed Virgin Mary. In between, we walked in silence to reflect the nature of the day and consider how the experience of the character we just heard corresponded to our hearts. In a small town divided by many churches, it was refreshing to look upon the Cross together and recognize “the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Fr. Matt, Erie, KS