Calgary's Way of the Cross procession is changing its route this year ...

Omar Sherif · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2024 6:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: March 28

Timing and logistical challenges have forced Calgary's Roman Catholic diocese to make changes to an annual Easter event. However, some say it's an opportunity for those living nearby to be a part of the procession.

The Way of the Cross, an outdoor walk across 14 different stations which the diocese says commemorates Jesus Christ's last on on earth as a man, will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday. The good Friday tradition will begin at St. Mary's University campus and conclude at the Father Lacombe Care Centre in southeast Calgary.

From 1983 until 2019, the event was held at the St. Mary's Cathedral in the city's southwest neighbourhood of Mission. It was cancelled the following two years due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. 

This year's walk is the first that Calgary's Roman Catholic diocese is organizing since that time, but now in a new location.

"We weren't able to have sufficient time to get the permits that are necessary from the city for safety and making sure that everything was done properly," said Bishop William McGrattan with the Roman Catholic Catholic Diocese of Calgary.

McGrattan also added that he believes the permits are part of "recognizing that maybe some people might be sensitive" to seeing the religious event.

The 2023 procession was planned by Our Lady of Fatima Portuguese Parish and held around their church in southeast Calgary.

According to organizers, events in the past typically saw between 1,500 to 2,000 participants.

That number may not be achieved this year, McGrattan said, but he's hopeful that those living in those southeast communities will see this as an opportunity for easier access to the event.

During the hour-long procession, worshipers walk from one station to another, meditating and recalling events from that day. Specific prayers are also recited at each stop.

"On Easter, we do celebrate this great gift that Christ had overcome death and is pointing to us that, even in our own human lives, there is this promise of eternal life," McGrattan said.

"My hope is that people would realize this as a religious expression. Yes, it's Catholic and Christian, but that we all have that innate sense of hopefully a religious expression and desire to see that there is something greater than ourselves."

McGrattan said that the diocese hopes to hold the event around the St. Mary's Cathedral next year.