By Amanda Murthy
More than 140 members of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder community from all ages gathered at the St Mary’s Primary School oval and made their way to St Mary’s Church as they re-enacted the Passion of Christ, in the form of Stations of the Cross.
The event, which was part of the Easter Triduum celebrations, took place on Good Friday morning on 19 April, with parish youths each assuming the responsibilities of carrying the symbolic cross and taking the lead with the prayers for all the 14 stations.
St Mary’s Catholic Church Parish Priest Father Brennan Sia was present at the Stations of the Cross and said he was glad to see a great turn out at the solemn event.
“The Stations of the Cross is such a big part of our Good Friday celebrations, and seeing the community participate in a reverent, reflective setting was a great preparation for the Good Friday service at 3pm the same day,” Fr Sia said.
“Just as every other year, the Holy Week celebrations reflected the death and later on the resurrection of Christ – and it was a beautiful time shared in our community,” he concluded.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Assistant Parish Priest Fr Renald Anthony stated that this year, the parish decided to make the event more intimate to be more inclusive.
“Usually we would do a 700-metre walk from St Barbara’s Square to St Mary’s Church to make a public statement, but this year we decided to conduct the first 13 stations at the school oval and walked into the church for the final station,” Fr Anthony said.
“That walk for the last station ‘Jesus is laid in the tomb’, was symbolic gesture of carrying Jesus to the tomb.
“Having it at the school grounds also encouraged more people to attend the event and get involved, especially the elder parishioners or people with disabilities who would not have been able to come due to mobility and convenience if the stations were done in a mini-pilgrimage style,” he concluded.
Similarly, the Lockridge Parish community of Good Shepherd Catholic Church gathered for the Stations of the Cross, but in the form of a passion play steered by the parish ALIVE Youth Ministry group.
The youth clad in costumes and holding props depicted the events of Jesus’ final moments before His crucifixion.