The faithful of St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green depict the crowd during the parish’s March 29, 2024 Via Crucis (a live Stations of the Cross experience), held at 5:30 p.m. COURTESY OF FR. COREY D. BRUNS
Via Crucis: Annual tradition brings Good Friday reflection into the community
BY WKC STAFF
Every Good Friday, several communities throughout the Diocese of Owensboro put on a living depiction of Jesus’s way of the cross. With prayers and songs, Via Crucis, as it is called, processes throughout city streets to reflect on the 14 Stations of the Cross, which are portrayed by parishioner actors.
Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish in Owensboro holds their annual Via Crucis at 3 p.m. The bilingual prayer experience starts outside the parish and processes to Brescia University’s center courtyard quad area.
St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green holds their Via Crucis at 5:30 p.m. Prayed entirely in Spanish, the procession walks around the parish property, down the street, and concludes outside the parish hall.
Via Crucis is attended by parishioners and non-parishioners alike, as it is open to anyone who would like to pray along. The Via Crucis tradition is celebrated throughout the world in different countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The March 29, 2024 Via Crucis (a live Stations of the Cross experience), held downtown annually by parishioners of Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish, depicts Christ falling while carrying the cross. COURTESY OF TAYLOR MAURO GARCIA RIOS
A man playing Simon of Cyrene carries the cross for Jesus during Via Crucis (live Stations of the Cross) at St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green on Good Friday, March 29, 2024. COURTESY OF FR. COREY D. BRUNS
Actors portraying the women of Jerusalem participate in the March 29, 2024 Via Crucis (a live Stations of the Cross experience), held downtown annually by parishioners of Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish. COURTESY OF TAYLOR MAURO GARCIA RIOS
The crucifixion is portrayed during the Via Crucis (live Stations of the Cross) at St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green on Good Friday, March 29, 2024. COURTESY OF FR. COREY D. BRUNS
A woman portrays St. Veronica during the March 29, 2024 Via Crucis (a live Stations of the Cross experience), held downtown annually by parishioners of Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish. COURTESY OF TAYLOR MAURO GARCIA RIOS
Taylor Mauro Garcia Rios serves as a photographer as his father, Fulgencio Garcia, portrays one of the soldiers during the March 29, 2024 Via Crucis (a live Stations of the Cross experience), held downtown annually by parishioners of Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish. COURTESY OF FULGENCIO GARCIA
Originally printed in the May 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
