CV NEWS FEED // The Knights of Columbus are set to carry out their annual tradition of bringing the Via Crucis to life once more this week.
According to a recent news release, the Knights have organized a live reenactment of the Via Crucis, “Way of the Cross,” at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist Council 17254 in Paterson, New Jersey, since 2019. The cast and crew of the production includes 120 Knights and their family members, and preparations for the next year’s performance begin immediately after each year’s event ends.
Attendance for Via Crucis has doubled every year since 2021, according to the Cathedral’s rector, Msgr. Geno Sylva, who noted the significance of the Knights’ role in drawing people to Christ through the production.
“[As Knights], our mission is to reach out to everyone and invite them … so they can come here to receive the highest form of grace the world will ever know: the Eucharist,” the rector said in the release. “We’re always inviting other people to a more active engagement in the life of the Church.”
Before the event became a public procession, District Deputy Hector Jimenez and two other organizers held it in the Cathedral’s gym and attendance was never above 900, according to the release. Msgr Sylva, who became the Cathedral’s rector in 2018, decided to expand the production, as he saw its potential for growth and service to the area’s large Hispanic community. Nearly two-thirds of the 156,000 people who live in Paterson are Hispanic. The mile-long procession alternates between English and Spanish.
“Many Latino countries — Peru, the Dominican Republic, Mexico — are part of the faith community here at the cathedral,” said Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson. “And they are helping the entire city of Paterson to pray together and walk with Jesus on this Good Friday.”
Last year’s Via Crucis production cost approximately $6,000 to put on, the release said. Donations helped keep the cost at that level, instead of “much more,” according to the release.
