Some 65,000 faithful flocked to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska for this year’s Passion play, which started at 6 a.m., regional broadcaster Radio Kraków reported.
In line with a tradition that dates back to the early 17th century, over 100 amateur actors, mainly local guides and alumni of the town’s Bernardine school of theology, staged scenes from the Way of the Cross.
The famous annual Passion play began with Jesus’ trial before the High Priest Caiaphas; the pilgrims then proceeded with prayers along the Stations of the Cross, each of which featured a scene from the Gospel, according to Radio Kraków.
The steep 8-kilometre route culminated at the top of the local Calvary Hill, where a Good Friday service was held, the broadcaster reported.
Photo: PAP/Art Service
In 1999, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its landscape, as well as cultural, artistic and religious significance, according to the culture.pl website.
Poland’s Catholic Church marks Good Friday
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the day the Catholic Church turns its focus to the cross on Calvary, the Catholic News Agency CNA reported.
Regarded by many as one of the holiest days of the liturgical year, it is “the sombre day Jesus Christ was crucified,” according to the CNA.
While mass is not celebrated on Good Friday, Catholic churches offer a service celebrating the Lord’s Passion with Holy Communion and veneration of the cross, news outlets reported.
Bishops in many Polish dioceses have also urged priests to hold such devotions as the Stations of the Cross and Lenten on Good Friday, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
Prayers 'for Ukraine and refugees'
At many Good Friday services around the country, the Polish faithful were also expected to pray “for Ukraine and global peace,” PAP reported.
In the capital Warsaw, the main Way of the Cross was scheduled to set off at 8 p.m. from the historic St. Anne’s Church in the centre of the city, according to the dzieje.pl website.
In a letter to believers, the archbishop of Warsaw, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, wrote that just as last year, prayers would be said “for Ukraine and refugees.”
The archbishop added: “I invite you to share in prayer for this tormented nation and for just peace,” dzieje.pl reported.
On Good Friday, Catholics between the ages of 14 and 60, with the exception of people who are ill, are to observe the obligatory full day of fasting by consuming no more than one full meal and two smaller meals, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ekai.pl, radiokrakow.pl, culture.pl, dzieje.pl, CNA