On Good Friday, Toronto’s streets again become a vivid testament to Christ’s Passion as St. Francis of Assisi Parish carries on its long-standing Good Friday Procession, a Holy Week tradition in the downtown core for over 60 years.

It won't be the only such celebration as Communion and Liberation Toronto holds its Way of the Cross procession on the same day.

At St. Francis of Assisi, more than 500 parishioners and volunteers from the parish will join together on April 18 to commemorate the unique blend of faith and heritage in the public square. Beginning at the church on the corner of Grace Street and Mansfield Avenue, it will take over Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood in a public cavalcade of Catholicism. 

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The procession, which has become a sight to behold due to its scale and grandeur alone, had not always been that way, according to current pastor Fr. Massimo Buttigieg. 

“This was something started by our people back in 1962, and it was originally a simple drama play done in the hall of the parish. They evolved over the years, and it wasn’t until they bought the statue (of the crucifix) that they started the procession with that statue,” he said. 

“Ever since those early days, we have added more statues, volunteers with costumes and different characters from the Passion. Today, we have eight statues in total and around 200 different characters in the street procession.” 

The same can be said about Communion and Liberation Toronto, an ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church, which began its Way of the Cross procession in Toronto back in 2005. Beginning with just a handful of people, the event has grown to  see anywhere between 300 and 400 faithful walk together in silent meditation and prayer through the Toronto streets.

This year, the Way of the Cross will begin with initial prayers at 10 a.m. at the University of Toronto’s Newman Centre. Attendees will then walk through the U of T campus and Queen's Park Circle, praying the Stations of the Cross before arriving at St. Basil's Parish around 12:30 p.m. 

Paolo Palamara of CL Toronto spoke about how he’s seen the Lenten event impact so many over the years. 

“People downtown are always doing their own thing, but when we pass through them, there is an immediate silence, you could hear a fly go by, and it's just remarkable to see how much attention the Cross creates. Many times we see people stop what they are doing and start to follow us,” Palamara said. 

Complete with Latin choir music, Gregorian chants and a five-foot-long wooden Cross carried by the procession, stations are read and music is played before the procession continues in silence through Toronto’s downtown core. 

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Likewise, the St. Francis of Assisi procession moved from its parish hall to Toronto’s ever-bustling streets. It  now helps to connect the parish community to the broader public in a way that showcases the solemnity of Holy Week.

Buttigieg notes that whether it be tourists, people of other faiths or simply locals passing, the  curiosity inspired by the religious statues, musical bands and crowds of people representing different characters associated with the Passion of Christ on closed streets instantly becomes a means of evangelization in some way. 

Thanks in large part to the work of the parish’s designated planning committee, each year’s procession has been carried out with relative ease. The end of each year’s event marks the beginning of preparation for next year’s as statues, floats and volunteer selections begin to solidify. 

While Buttigieg admits it can be a tricky task to live up to the long-standing tradition, he said his hope is often renewed by seeing the younger generation take to the procession as volunteers or attending with their families. 

“That aspect has always shown that this is more than just an event. This has always been  about something more important, which is the faith — if there is no faith, they will not come,” he said. “It is encouraging, but at the same time, the duty is on us to continue passing on the message.” 

That message is the greatest story ever told, the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ,  the love of God in evidence for us, the sign of hope that culminates on Good Friday.

Though all are welcome to attend this year’s procession, which takes place from 3-5 p.m., those attending are called by St. Francis of Assisi’s pastor to go a step further this Lenten season. Rather than merely observing the spectacle,  Buttigieg suggests thinking about the deeper meaning of the season, the suffering of our Lord and the joy that is to come just days later. 

“I would say not to come and just watch as if it were some event. At least, if they can open the Bible and read the story of His Passion, it would be an experience of faith, not just something that we watch. Once the procession ends and we all go home and nothing changes, but something (like Scripture) can open our faith and change us from within,” he said. 

Similar feelings are shared by Palamara, who wishes that the message of Good Friday radiates with attendees of both processions long after each event concludes

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“ I hope for everyone to recognize that the death of Christ is the gateway to a new life in resurrection. Everyone is invited to bring their troubles, to bring their drama and difficulties, and offer them to the only one who can take that nothingness and make anew,” he said. 

“These are two ways leading up to Easter to show that God and Jesus are with us every day and that in this Cross, there is hope, because death did not have the last word, Jesus did.”