MILWAUKEE — Good Friday is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
A group in Milwaukee called Missionaries of the Real Presence embarked on a “Way of the Cross Pilgrimage of Reparation” to honor the day.
It is a nearly 10-mile journey through Milwaukee. They stopped and prayed at 14 different sites in the city where Catholic churches once stood.
Members of the group regularly go out into neighborhoods to spread the word of God and the message of Christianity.
Griffin Rain led a prayer in front of Church of the Gesu on Marquette University’s campus, before beginning the pilgrimage.
“We’re encouraging a renewal of the faith in these areas, and as we come across people, we share the love of Christ with them,” said Rain.
For Colin Hudson, it’s a powerful way to spend Good Friday. He said the community really takes notice because the group carries a large cross with them.
“The cross is something very obvious, so their reaction is both positive and negative, and hopefully the people take what happened on the cross more seriously and maybe take a closer step toward following Jesus,” said Hudson.
As they walked the city, they invited others to join them on the spiritual journey.
Rain said the responses the group often gets are what inspire them to keep going.
“We met a guy that was on his way to go buy drugs,” said Rain. “It was a daily habit of his, and he decided to not go that day and buy drugs. He came and walked with us for about two hours. He came, and he was just walking with us, and he shared with us that it was the first time that he ever experienced love.”
The message on the cross they carry says: “Our sufferings that He endured.”
Those who walk this journey on Good Friday said they want people to feel God’s love and know that no one has to suffer alone.
