Via Crucis draws thousands in Waukegan
"Dios mío, Dios mío, por qué me has abandonado?"
Nearly naked and shivering from cold, Salvador Murrieta shouted, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' as he hung from the cross in the courtyard of Holy Family Catholic Church in Waukegan.
Playing the much-honored part of Jesus, Murrieta endured the pain from actual whips, and cold, whipping winds during the 19th Annual "Living Way of the Cross" drama.
The Good Friday tradition, know in Spanish as "Via Crucis," drew more than 2,000 people despite winterlike temperatures.
"We start rehearsing in January," said organizer Maria Camacho. "We have 35 actors and dozens of other people who worked together to make this happen," she said.
Camacho said the event keeps getting bigger, and was especially large this year because four churches came together for the event.
Volunteers from Waukegan churches Holy Family, St. Anastasia and Immaculate Conception, and Queen of Peace Church in North Chicago joined together to dramatize the crucifixion of Jesus.
The nearly two-hour production included a mile-long walk by the actors following the Catholic tradition of the Stations of the Cross.
The realistic re-enactment included actual whipping of the characters, resulting in visible welts on the bare backs of "Jesus" and the two "criminals" walking with him.
Much to the anguish of "Mary," Roman soldiers jeered, mocked and taunted the captives as they walked through the neighborhood.
The tradition dates from the 13th century and offers a way for Catholics and Christians of other denominations to remember the final hours in the life of Jesus.
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