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COURIER L 26 IFE, APRIL 26–MAY 2, 2019 PS
Bridge crossing
Thousands walk across Brooklyn
Bridge in Good Friday procession
BY NATALLIE ROCHA
Across the Brooklyn Bridge they went.
Thousands of Catholics walked
across the Brooklyn Bridge for the
24th Annual Way of the Cross procession
on April 19.
The yearly event took place on
“Good Friday,” a holy day of signifi -
cance in the Catholic faith which
marks the day Jesus of Nazareth carried
a cross to his death.
The walk, sponsored by the Movement
of Communion and Liberation, a
Catholic movement that originated in
Italy, lasted from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The walk of believers emulates Christ’s
walk to Calvary and is marked by refl
ective prayer and songs at fi ve New
York landmarks, according to a member
of the movement.
“We try to remember the suffering
of people everyday and bring it to everyone,”
said Joan Russo, a Catholic
and Staten Island resident. “What this
walk means to us is to be a witness.”
The procession takes people from
St. James Cathedral-Basilica in Downtown
to four other local sights that
the group aligns with Jesus’ walk to
Calvary and ends in downtown Manhattan
at St. Peter Roman Catholic
Church — the fi rst Catholic church in
New York City.
Joshua Layugan, a young member
of the Movement of Communion and
Liberation, carried the wooden cross
as an acknowledgement of Christ’s
suffering.
The original walk started with a
handful of people walking the bridge
because the pillars of the bridge reminded
them of the architecture
you’d fi nd at a grand cathedral, according
to Russo. As a participant
and representative of the Human
Adventure Corporation — a do-good
group that supports the Way of the
Cross — Russo said the number of
people who joined the walk across
the bridge shot up after the tragedy
of the Sept. 11 attack.
With the majority of the walkers
being Catholic, they acknowledged the
ACROSS THE BRIDGE: Joshua Layugan, a
New York member of the Communion and
Liberation movement, carries the wooden
cross alongside thousands of Christians at
the 24th annual Way of the Cross over the
Brooklyn Bridge procession on Good Friday.
Photo by Paul Martinka
tragic burning of the Notre Dame Cathedral
in France at the start of holy
week, one Catholic participant from
Dyker Heights said.
“I believe that there is hope for the
future in the church and in the face of
tragedy,” Carlos Cruz said. “There is
hope for tomorrow.”
While some out-of-towners snapped
photos and went along for the walk,
Cruz and his wife Maria, participating
in the walk for the second time, opted
to silently pray the rosary.
Russo said that the fl ood of people
walking the bridge shows everyone in
the city an optimistic sign of unity for
people within the church and beyond.
“It’s really powerful when you see
a construction worker take off their
hat and make sign of the cross as the
procession walks by,” Russo said. “Basically,
the walk shows a presence
in the city and says to people, you’re
not alone.”
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