Pope inspires youth to follow
Way of Cross

By NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer

Inspired by Pope John Paul II, a group of young Catholics from St. Denis Parish in Havertown and Sacred Heart Parish in Manoa organizes an annual living representation of the Passion that now draws about 700 people to walk in the footsteps of Christ.

The outdoor Way of the Cross has attracted people of all ages — even 5-year-old John Doughty, who walked the two-hour representation of Christ’s passion in a walker.

“It really gives an opportunity to families with little children, who find it hard to go to a long church service because of the kids,” said Kathy Morley, the youth minister for St. Denis and Sacred Heart, which includes nearly a 100 young people.

“So many families walked with us,” Morley said. “We saw strollers and little kids. Even those with disabilities walked with us. There were about 700 people walking.”

Among them was Cardinal Justin Rigali, who presided over the 1.5 mile devotion, which began with the first Station at St. Denis and ended with the fourteenth Station at Sacred Heart.

John Doughty, his parents, Cassandra and Bill, and his two brothers and two sisters walked the stations with excitement and joy at being able to participate. John was born with Spina Bifida, a defect that occurs in the first months of pregnancy: The developing infant’s spinal column fails to close, causing disabilities that may include partial or full paralysis.

“John was so excited to walk that day, and he wanted to keep up with everyone,” said Cassandra Doughty. The family is part of St. Dennis Parish. “We’d start ahead, but inevitably we’d end up at the back, because he couldn't walk fast enough.

“ We kept asking him if he wanted to go into the wagon we brought, because we didn’t want him to get discouraged that he kept ending up at the back. But although he was tired, he was determined,” she said. “We finally convinced him to go in the wagon midway, but then he got out to walk the end. If it had been up to him, he would have walked the whole time. Next year, we’ll let him finish it on his own.”

John’s parents believed their fourth child of five would begin walking when he was one or two, but the process has been more gradual than they expected. This year he began walking on his own, and he still uses his walker for long distances or to run.

John’s efforts on the Way of the Cross moved those who know his story, but even those who did not, like the Cardinal, were inspired.
“John walked with us, and the Cardinal just fell in love with him,” Morley said.

“He comes from a wonderful family of faith,” said Father Kevin Gallagher, parochial vicar at St. Denis. “He’s had his own personal problems, but he’s done so well. Just as Christ bore the weight of the Cross, many walking with us were also bearing their crosses.”

“We have the best priests,” Cassandra Doughty said. “And they, and our Cardinal, are our Simon of Cyrene — helping us carry our daily crosses just by being there and walking with us.”

The group of young Catholics who organized the Way were inspired by the Holy Father, according to Morley

“When we went to Toronto, I told them that they had to bring one thing back from their experience at World Youth Day,” she recalled. “They wanted to bring back the Way of the Cross they did with the Holy Father.”

That was three years ago, and the two parishes have been doing a joint Way of the Cross ever since.

The crowd walked solemnly through municipal streets, while 15 police officers closed down certain roadways, directed traffic and assisted the procession. The walkers stopped at each station, where young people enacted the trials Christ endured in His final walk to Golgotha. The Cardinal led meditations and prayers, written by the Holy Father, which had been used in Toronto and during the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum in 2000.

“It's a bold proclamation of the teens’ faith, and of the faithful, that we walked the streets with a cross and a person playing Jesus,” Father Gallagher said.“The teens were very sincere about it, and you could see that they were truly doing it because of their belief in Jesus.”

Father Henry McKee, pastor of Sacred Heart, said he was also touched by the display of faith in both parishes, and in the teens’ reverence and hard work in preparing the devotion.

The young organizers had several rehearsals. They even ran through their “dress rehearsal” in the pouring rain, Morely said.
“I just thought to myself that day, ‘They really do all this for God,’” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”

As meaningful as the religious devotion has become for the adults and families in both parishes, it may be even more rewarding for the young people who organize it every year, Mosely said: “For the teens to experience the Church like this is a great gift.

“We need to be very present to our youth. We need to be there to guide them and show them God’s love and mercy,” she said. “We have to give them a role in the Church, so they can experience it. When they are given a role, they do take that responsibility seriously.”

Then, as Mosely tells them, the rest is in God’s hands.

CS&T staff writer Nadia Pozo can be reached at npozo@adphila.org or(215) 965-4614.