‘A very prayerful experience’: Hundreds follow living Passion play through suburban streets

Hundreds of the faithful walked suburban streets on Friday to reenact the biblical scene of Jesus Christ’s final hours thousands of years ago in Jerusalem.

Christians for centuries have been performing the Stations of the Cross to observe Christ’s suffering and death. And while many observances take place within the confines of churches, very real portrayals pour out onto the streets on Good Friday.

For more than four decades, members of Mision San Juan Diego Parish and its predecessor, St. Teresita, have been performing living stations on the streets of Palatine and Arlington Heights.

The hourslong procession began just after noon Friday in front of St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Palatine, making a milelong journey east on Anderson Drive, under the Route 53 bridge, then north on Wilke Road to Mision San Juan Diego.

Some 50 actors — those portraying Jesus, Mary, Veronica, Pontius Pilate and Roman soldiers — helped tell the story of the Via Crucis, making the 14 traditional stops along the way between Jesus’ condemnation by Pilate to being laid in the tomb.

About 500 parishioners followed along, stopping every block or so to recite prayers in Spanish.

Similar scenes played out throughout the suburbs Friday.

More than 1,000 people gathered on the campus of Most Blessed Trinity Parish in Waukegan to participate in the living stations.

About 150 parishioners are involved in the parish’s annual production, from actors to makeup artists, and from costume coordinators to carpenters who build the stages.

“The people put a lot of time and effort into it. The practices start weeks before. It’s a very prayerful experience for them,” said Bishop Tim O’Malley, who participated in the Waukegan church’s Friday midday service. “It’s a real interaction: ‘Hey, that’s somebody I know or somebody in my family who’s taking on a particular role.’ It really touches their hearts.”

At the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, participants holding small wooden crosses followed a procession from the church plaza, around the Maryville Academy campus, and back to the plaza.

In Hanover Park, a procession started at St. Ansgar Parish and concluded at the park district’s Community Park.