Diocesan parishes prepare for Easter with Ways of the Cross, liturgies

Several parishes will observe Good Friday with liturgies and outdoor Way of the Cross processions.
Bishop McManus will lead the annual Way of the Cross procession at noon from St. John’s Church on Temple Street to St. Paul Cathedral, with stops along the way to pray the Stations of the Cross.
He will be accompanied by Msgr Robert K. Johnson, rector, Father Angel R. Matos, associate pastor, deacons and members of the parish and community.
At the cathedral, there will be Confessions from 1 to 2:30 p.m., a Good Friday liturgy in English at 3 p.m.  and a Good Friday liturgy in Spanish at 7 p.m.
After the 7 p.m. liturgy, the Spanish parish youth group will present, in Spanish, a reading of the Seven Last Words of Christ. They are the words attributed to Christ as he was dying on the Cross as recorded in the Gospels of John, Luke, Mark and Matthew.
Members of St. Joan of Arc Parish will reenact the Way of the Cross at 1:30 p.m. along Tacoma Street in Great Brook Valley and will end at the church. Prayers will be in Spanish, English and Twi, a language of Ghana.
There will be a liturgy in English at 7 p.m. in the church.
St. Peter’s/St. Andrews Parish Way of the Cross procession will begin at St. Peter’s Elementary School and proceed along Main Street to the church, with stops and prayers for each station. There will be a 3 p.m. liturgy in Spanish in St. Peter’s Church and a 7 p.m. liturgy in St. Andrew’s Church.
At Our Lady of Vilna Parish, at 6:30 p.m the Vietnamese Youth Group will present a Passion play in Vietnamese and English, after which there will be a Good Friday liturgy.
In Southbridge, Blessed John Paul II Parish observances will be held in all three churches. At 8:30 a.m. there will be a prayer service in English in St. Mary’s Church.
At 11 a.m. a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession will start at St. Mary’s Church and move to Notre Dame  Church with prayers in Spanish  for each station, followed by a liturgy at noon in Spanish. There will be celebrations of the Lord’s Passion at 3 p.m. in English  in St. Mary’s and St. Hedwig,s churches and at 7 p.m. at Notre Dame Church. At 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church The Seven Last Words of Christ will be prayed in Spanish. At. 8:30 p.m. there will be a silent procession from Notre Dame Church to St. Mary’s Church.
St. John the Baptist Parish in East Brookfield will host “A Walk with Jesus” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is a self-guided, meditative tour in which participants may start at the church at any time and move at their own pace through a series of activities, reflection and scripture. A liturgy commemorating the passion of Christ will be held at 7 p.m. in the church.
Traditional Stations of the Cross will be prayed at 3 p.m. at Mary, Queen of the Rosary Parish in Spencer.