Throughout the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland, thousands of people attended the Good Friday Passion liturgy on April 18, including hundreds of faithful who gathered at St. Michael the Archangel Church on Cleveland’s West Side to form the annual Good Friday Procession. The event is a tradition in the West Side Hispanic parishes.
Led by clergy members from St. Michael, St. Colman and Sagrada Familia, the group processed to the churches where they prayed and participated in the Passion liturgy. Participating pastors were Father Mark Riley from St. Michael the Archangel, Father Joe Fifin, CSJ, Sagrada Familia, and Father Caroli Shao, AJ, St. Colman. Deacons from the parishes also helped lead the solemn procession.
A life-size statue of the crucified Christ and a Madonna dressed in black were carried throughout the procession. A man dressed as Jesus carried a cross. Accompanying him were two young girls dressed as angels and others wearing costumes from the Roman era.
(See the photo gallery with images from the procession, cathedral Passion liturgy and Sacred Heart Chapel above.)
The weather was perfect for the procession. The sun was shining and temperatures were flirting with 80 degrees. A few raindrops fell as the group left St. Colman’s, the second stop, and headed to Sagrada Familia, where they entered the church hall and trampled the sawdust Carpets of Holy Week that had been created on the floor. The intricate, brightly colored carpets are a tradition in Mexico and other Central American countries. Their destruction on Good Friday symbolizes the pain and death endured by Jesus at his Crucifixion.
The group prayed before leaving St. Michael. Throughout the procession they prayed the rosary, sang and offered other prayers. At St. Colman, the clergy prostrated themselves in front of the altar before celebrating the first part of the Passion liturgy, including a reading of the Passion in Spanish.
The faithful then processed to Sagrada Familia for the second half of the Passion liturgy.
Meanwhile, a few miles east in the Cathedral of St. the Evangelist, Bishop Edward Malesic presided at the livestreamed Passion liturgy which included veneration of the cross, a series of prayers, reading of the Passion and Communion. No Mass is celebrated on Good Friday.
Father Damian Ference, vicar for evangelization, was the homilist at the cathedral liturgy.
He reminded the congregation that we believe in one God, just like our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters.
“But we also believe that God became human and took on all human characteristics except sin. Our God knows what it’s like to be human,” he said.
Referring to Bishop Malesic’s recently released pastoral letter, Father Ference said many people don’t think of God as a friend. They may not believe that he has the ability to love, forgive and care for us, instead thinking we are on our own as we struggle to face everyday life.
He noted there are a series of petitions in the Good Friday liturgy, including two in which we pray for those who don’t believe in Jesus and for those who don’t believe in God.
“The priest prays that through the mystery of this water and wine, may we share in the divinity of Jesus, who shared our humanity. Jesus is the son of God who suffered, died and rose again. The mystery of your life is understood by participating in his life. He wants to join us in all things,” Father Ference said.
“When did you feel like you were being crucified?” he asked. “Who helped you carry your cross? If you can answer that, you can tell your story and invite people here (to a church for a Mass or liturgy) … There is some pain and sorrow in life. Those are the Good Friday experiences. Then we can experience the power of the Resurrection. If you’ve suffered pain and heartbreak, such as anxiety, pain or depression, know that Jesus was with you. He came to save us from pain and sin,” Father Ference said.
“The answer is the cross. That’s why we call this Friday good.”
At Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain, also a Hispanic parish, the faithful were attending the Passion liturgy celebrated by Father Bill Thaden, pastor.
As is the tradition, the congregation followed Father Thaden and the servers into the dark church hall where a path of sawdust carpets had been created on the floor. As they walked along the path, they destroyed the carpets.
The liturgy ended with a symbolic placing of Jesus in a “tomb” that had been created on the stage. Afterward, the faithful quietly left the hall.
Watch the livestreamed Passion liturgy from the cathedral on demand here.