By JASMINE GOMEZ (Photos by JENNY SHARP) 

Despite a solemn rain, St. Brendan’s Church and The Shrine Church of St. Ann’s, both located in Norwood, hosted their yearly Good Friday procession, a reenactment of The Passion of Jesus Christ. This was also the final procession for St. Ann’s, which is set to merge with St. Brendan’s Church later this year.

It’s a scene that caused nearly everyone to pause–a procession that begins at the intersection of 204th Street and Webster Avenue. There actors portraying Roman soldiers led a bloodied Jesus to the site of his crucifixion. In some instances, spectators glance stoically, almost as if they were staring at an accident.

“Save yourself Messiah! Call your father to save you!” shouted one of the Roman soldiers as over a hundred men, women, and children looked on, some crying while others remaining with a steady shock. The actor portraying Jesus delved into the part, limping along Bainbridge Avenue as he carried a wooden cross. Soldiers ridiculed and flogged him, at some points even warning patrons to take steps away from Jesus.

For the pious, seeing a portrayal of The Passion along Bainbridge Avenue’s commercial strip was, at times, a surreal moment. For some it was simply moving.

“I think about what happened,” said Carmen Gonzalez, a neighbor crying as she saw the depiction. “If it happened like that, can you imagine how it really happened?”,

Across the world, Christians recognize Good Friday as the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by participating in processions, or Stations of the Cross. For Christians the day often involves praying, fasting, and maintaining a quiet atmosphere within their homes. For some, the procession is akin to a funeral.

Asked about the purpose and size of procession, Father George Stewart, who leads the congregation at St. Brendan’s, highlighted linkage between procession and the faithful. “We are in solidarity with Jesus and it helps us to recall the great love that God has for us,” said Stewart.

Stewart help lead the St. Brendan’s service, with police clearing Bainbridge Avenue as the procession headed northward, diverting traffic and, at times, halting it altogether. The crowd was much larger than last year, said Stewart, since parishioners for St. Ann’s, a catholic church by Bainbridge Avenue and East Gun Hill Road, was slated to meet them.

The procession carried on by St. Ann’s seemed noticeably smaller than St. Brendan’s, offering a foreshadow of  its imminent closing and merging with St. Brendan’s.

Echoing the somber tone of the procession, Nancy Lora, an 18-year member of St. Ann’s Good Friday procession, expressed disappointment that St. Ann’s is scheduled to be closed soon. Asked whether she will join St. Brendan’s after the closing of St. Ann’s she said,  “I have to see because it’s farther now, you know? I used to walk two minutes to go to St. Ann’s, and now I have to, like, prepare a half an hour ahead, which doesn’t matter. But now I have to deal with a new community, and you know, it’s tough.”

The announcement of St. Ann’s closure for regular worship was made late last year. It was met with much dismay and questions, perhaps making this final procession an emotional one. St. Ann’s will merge with St. Brendan’s this coming August, leaving its patrons to embrace their new community at St. Brendan’s or seek worship elsewhere.

Additional reporting by David Cruz. 

Editor’s Note: More pictures of this event can be found on the Norwood News Facebook page.