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

David Bell · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 7:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Calgary Catholics are returning to their roots, successful a sense, arsenic the yearly Way of the Cross procession way reverts to its pre-COVID glory connected Friday.

"It allows the faithful to beryllium agreed astatine that peculiar clip with Christ arsenic helium walks towards the eventual motion of his love, the giving of his beingness connected the cross," Bishop William McGrattan told CBC News successful a Thursday interview.

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

Last year, the procession way started at St. Mary's University field and ended astatine the Father Lacombe Care Centre successful southeast Calgary.

This year, the accepted way is restored, starting and ending astatine St. Mary's Cathedral connected 18th Avenue S.W. This was the norm betwixt 1983 and 2019.

McGrattan said this clip is precise important to Catholics.

"We are entering what we telephone our ineffable triduum, the 3 days successful which we celebrate. Holy Thursday, the instauration of the acquisition of the eucharist. We observe Good Friday with the passionateness and the cross. And that leads america successful the solemnisation of Easter, our content and our witnesser of the resurrection of Christ," helium said.

The Way of the Cross, besides referred to arsenic Stations of the Cross oregon the Via Crucis, is an outdoor locomotion crossed 14 stations, which the diocese says commemorates Jesus Christ's past clip connected world arsenic a man.

The religion is expecting astir 3,000 participants, including galore from extracurricular of the Catholic tradition.

"In galore ways, quality suffering, which is portion of Christ's passion, we spot successful assorted cultures and countries. When we marque the mode of the cross, we see each those people," the bishop said.

"We commune for those who are disadvantaged, those who are surviving successful poverty, those who are immigrants, those who person experienced governmental violence. So astatine each of the stations, we see galore of our brothers and sisters who are experiencing those circumstances."

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