It was a clear, crisp night when a large group of people set out after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday for the seven-church pilgrimage called the Holy Night Hike. Billboards publicizing the event were located in areas near the participating churches.
Hikers could begin at any of the churches – all located within walking distance in the Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods on Cleveland’s West Side – and visit as many as they liked until the buildings closed at 11 p.m.
(See photo gallery above.)
One large group of about 85 was led by Father Damian Ference, vicar for evangelization, Father Eric Garris, diocesan vocation director, and Mike Hayes, director of Young Adult Ministry. They began walking after Mass at St. Wendelin Church on Columbus Road, stopping at St. Patrick Church on Bridge Avenue, St, Malachi on Washington Avenue, St. Emeric on West 22nd Street, St. Andrew Kim and St. Augustine, both on West 14th Street, and St. John Cantius on College Avenue. At each location, they paused briefly for prayer and a reflection. The reflections focused on parts of Jesus’ journey to his crucifixion.
The hikers received a passport and a candle. At each stop, they got a seal to affix to the passport.
Some of those participating in the hike walked with a group of friends while others came alone and joined the larger group.
Perhaps coming the furthest to participate was a group from St. Helen Parish in Newbury. Theresa Dekrom, the parish youth minister, heard about the event while attending a recent youth ministry boot camp program.
“We do a summer program in Tremont and I wanted to bring a group to visit the West Side churches,” she said, noting the Holy Night Hike was a great opportunity to accomplish that. About a dozen participated in the event, which took about 2½ hours to complete.
Volunteers greeted the hikers at each stop, passing out the seals and bottles of water. It was the first time many of the participants had visited some of the churches. Some were overheard remarking about the beauty and character of the churches. Most were about century old. At St. Andrew Kim, which is home to a Korean congregation, seminarians and priests were among those on hand to welcome visitors.
Father Ference and Hayes said they were pleased with the turnout and hope to offer the hike again next year,
In addition to the seven churches on the hike, additional churches across the diocese remained opened until 11 p.m. on Holy Thursday in Cleveland, Lakewood, Lorain and Summit counties offering the faithful an opportunity to visit and pray.