To commemorate as well as to emphasize on the importance of Easter, the Catholic Archdiocese in Port Moresby initiated the Station of the Cross yesterday from St. Mary’s Cathedral Church to St. Charles Lwanga.
An event that saw hundreds of the Catholic faithfuls, young and old from different Parishes in the city flood from one significant location, called stations, to the other carrying the cross, praying and singing, growing in number with the ascension of the stations.
A good number of the of the participants shared sentiments that the event was more special for the church because apart from the significance of Easter itself, the last time the Station of the Cross was carried out was in 2018, a time before the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. For three years the parishioners had not gathered in such unity as tradition, to honour the occasion.
Also present for the precession, almost every step of the way was the Police Metropolitan Superintendent Silva Sika and his Deputy Commissioner of Administration, Joanne Clarkson alongside their team of attentive Police traffic officers.
Sika reflected that the city had been peaceful throughout the duration of the procession so far and commended the public for their cooperation and respect for the significance of this holiday period.
He also commended the church for reaching out to the police to be engaged in this initiative as security of the people is paramount.
One thing that stood out for the Superintendent was the youth involvement in the procession. While some took lead in the procession carrying the cross, other youths took part as marshals for the event, running to and fro even alongside the traffic police to steer the crowd.
“With all the issues that we are facing in NCD involving youths and law and order, this could be one of the good initiative that our young people can take part to seriously change their attitudes and mindsets”, Sika said.
Sharing the same sentiment with him is Youth Vice President for the Waigani Parish, Sylvester Bata, whom helped coordinated youth participation for the event.
“We youths are the next generation so it’s good we participate to continue this significant belief of the church”, Sylvester said.
Sylvester expressed that Easter is a time to personally reflect on the death of Christ and change our ways for the better.
