Since 1980, our annual Stations of the Cross each Good Friday has led us, and hundreds of participants, through the streets of Erie, PA. The Good Friday Pilgrimage this year begins at 11 a.m. on April 7.
We stop at storefronts, landmarks, parks, banks, and churches, to pray on the sidewalk about the many ways that Christ is crucified in our world today.
Each year, the stops and prayers are different, allowing us to concentrate on justice issues and kinds of suffering that are especially timely. In recent years, themes have included misogyny, racism, oppression of immigrants, and the climate crisis. Usually we begin at St. Peter's Cathedral in downtown Erie, walk through the city, and after 8 station stops, board a chartered city bus to return to Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. The bus also travels along with us as we walk, available to participants who cannot walk the full route. The final Station, the last stop on the Pilgrimage, is prayed in the monastery chapel at 3 p.m. The Pilgrimage through the city usually takes approximately an hour and a half. All are welcome to join this act of public witness, repentance, and prayer.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pilgrimage was offered virtually. You can view the video, which focuses on the sin of racism, below.
Each year, the stops and prayers are different, allowing us to concentrate on justice issues and kinds of suffering that are especially timely. In recent years, themes have included misogyny, racism, oppression of immigrants, and the climate crisis. Usually we begin at St. Peter's Cathedral in downtown Erie, walk through the city, and after 8 station stops, board a chartered city bus to return to Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. The bus also travels along with us as we walk, available to participants who cannot walk the full route. The final Station, the last stop on the Pilgrimage, is prayed in the monastery chapel at 3 p.m. The Pilgrimage through the city usually takes approximately an hour and a half. All are welcome to join this act of public witness, repentance, and prayer.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pilgrimage was offered virtually. You can view the video, which focuses on the sin of racism, below.
