Christians Mark Good Friday With Services, 'Way Of The Cross' Procession In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Christians around the world and across the Tri-State area are marking Good Friday by commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Services were held Friday evening at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Masses of people said being there on Good Friday evening was a privilege, CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported.
Earlier, bearing a wooden cross, about 3,000 people, led by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge as a symbol of their faith Friday morning in the 19th annual "Way of the Cross Procession."
Christians Mark Good Friday With 'Way Of The Cross' Procession
"We go through the streets to show the world that is what Christ went through," Raquel Isaza Cantor of Bay Ridge told CBS 2's Janelle Burrell.
"Faith and sacrifice, that's our belief," another woman told 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa.
This is the ninth year that David Galalis from Bay Ridge has taken part in the procession across the bridge.
"It's incredibly moving, that's why I come back every year," he said. "It's a great thing to be a part of."
He said as a New Yorker, it is especially meaningful to stop and pray at Ground Zero.
"The contrast, when I first starting doing this, it was still a pit in the ground and now there's a new building there," he told WCBS 880's Monica Miller. "It's symbolic of resurrection."
Christians Mark Good Friday With 'Way Of The Cross' Procession
Earlier Friday, Dolan spoke to a packed crowd at St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn.
"Just as that bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, spans and brings together Brooklyn and Manhattan, Jesus is the bridge who brings together God and man," Dolan told parishioners.
Dolan offered words of renewal, one of the themes of the Easter season, along with Brooklyn's bishop Nicholas Dimarzio.
"This is a week of accompaniment," Dolan said. "Jesus walks with us, we walk with Jesus."
In the late afternoon, many journeyed uptown, rejoining Dolan at St. Patricks' for additional reflection on the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
A Stations of the Cross service took place at 6 p.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.
According to the Gospels, Jesus ate his last supper hours before he was betrayed. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.
Christians To Mark Good Friday With 'Way Of The Cross' Procession
In Jerusalem, thousands of Christian pilgrims carried wooden crosses and followed the 14 stations ending at the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Tradition says the church was built on the site where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
The Easter holiday and Jewish Passover coincide this year.
On Holy Saturday, Cardinal Dolan will return for 8 p.m. Easter Vigil mass.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
