Pontiac procession recalls Christ's
last hours
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 21, 2006
Detroit – A group of parishes in Pontiac made the procession of Christ carrying his cross more tangible by holding their own street procession.
The street procession is an annual Good Friday event held by the youth and young adult groups of the Pontiac Catholic Community, a cluster of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Michael and Shrine of St. Joseph parishes. While processing from St. Joseph to St. Vincent de Paul, the group stopped 14 times to pray the Stations of the Cross.
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Gilberto Almarez Mora portrays Christ in the this year’sPassion procession. | Prayed in both English and in Spanish, prayers during the Stations also tied into the community. For example, in front of the fire station, the group prayed for those who serve the community; in front of a church of a different denomination, they prayed for ecumenical brothers and sisters.
Portia Fields-Anderson, a member of St. Vincent de Paul, has led the procession songs with friend Maria Delgado for the past few years. She keeps coming back not only because it's another way to work with the church community, but also because it's a way to share the word with people in the neighborhoods, she said.
As the group processes through the streets, people will come out on their front porches to see what is going on. Some will even join the procession. Sometimes, Fields-Anderson will see someone she knows and leave her spot to quickly give a hug.
"It's a real show of community," she said.
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A procession took to the streets of Pontiac on Good Friday,portraying the last hours of Christ. The annual procession isorganized by youth and young adult groups at St. Vincent de Paul, St. Michael and Shrine of St. Joseph parishes. | Fields-Anderson said the procession, which is done regardless of the weather, is grounding as well as moving and uplifting. "In today's world, everything moves so fast," she said. "It's nice to go back to chapter one."
After the procession, in which Gilberto Almarez Mora portrayed Jesus this year, a Good Friday service was held at St. Vincent de Paul. Usually, the procession draws a few hundred people as well as those who are involved in singing, praying and portraying the various characters of the Passion. Notre Dame Preparatory Academy, a co-ed high school in Pontiac, was to provide three buses this year to bring people back to their cars after the service.
Youth Minister Lourdes Smith said the procession through the street is similar to what is done in other countries, such as Spain, and often by immigrants. "It's good that we're still doing this," she said.
Smith credited some of the youth's involvement in this and other activities to the cluster's clergy. "They want the youth to be involved in every aspect of parish life," she said.
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