Way of the Cross returns to traditional route in Calgary after COVID hiatus

Calgary Catholics are returning to their roots, in a sense, as the annual Way of the Cross procession route reverts to its pre-COVID glory on Friday.

"It allows the faithful to be united at that special time with Christ as he walks towards the ultimate sign of his love, the giving of his life on the cross," Bishop William McGrattan told CBC News in a Thursday interview.

• 2024 | Calgary's Way of the Cross procession is changing its route this year

Last year, the procession route started at St. Mary's University campus and ended at the Father Lacombe Care Centre in southeast Calgary.

This year, the traditional route is restored, starting and ending at St. Mary's Cathedral on 18th Avenue S.W. This was the norm between 1983 and 2019.

McGrattan said this time is very important to Catholics.

"We are entering what we call our sacred triduum, the three days in which we celebrate. Holy Thursday, the institution of the gift of the eucharist. We celebrate Good Friday with the passion and the cross. And that leads us in the celebration of Easter, our belief and our witness of the resurrection of Christ," he said.

The Way of the Cross, also referred to as Stations of the Cross or the Via Crucis, is an outdoor walk across 14 stations, which the diocese says commemorates Jesus Christ's last time on earth as a man.

The church is expecting around 3,000 participants, including many from outside of the Catholic tradition.

"In many ways, human suffering, which is part of Christ's passion, we see in various cultures and countries. When we make the way of the cross, we include all those people," the bishop said.

"We pray for those who are disadvantaged, those who are living in poverty, those who are immigrants, those who have experienced political violence. So at each of the stations, we include many of our brothers and sisters who are experiencing those circumstances."

It begins at St. Mary's Cathedral, 219 18th Ave. S.W., at 8:30 a.m.