BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Hundreds of people in Northampton County are gathering to reflect and remember this Good Friday.
A Catholic church in Southside Bethlehem is hosting its annual Living Stations of the Cross.
“It’s something that moves you,” said Tadeo Giganti Dima.
Giganti Dima has spent hours rehearsing.
“It’s a very intimate thing to be in the paper of Jesus,” said Giganti Dima.
It’s his third year walking the streets of Southside Bethlehem on Good Friday.
He’s barefoot and carries a cross.
“I’m not doing this for myself, I’m not doing this for my own glory, but I’m doing it for the glory of God,” said Giganti Dima.
Right by his side is his brother, David Giganti Dima.
“I played the son of Pontius Pilate,” said David.
And people near and dear to his heart.
“My mom played Mary and my dad played Nicodemus, which was just amazing, because it was now a family thing,” said David. “We’re all dedicating our emotion, our praying for our discomfort.”
The family is joined by hundreds of people walking in unison, hoping to spread faith, collective worship and mourn Jesus Christ’s final journey.
“It’s emotional because we can feel the pain,” said Joelimar Luna Ortega, a member of Holy Infancy Church.
Some people, like Cheyla Delrosario, traveled far to pray the Living Stations of the Cross.
“We’re visiting from New Jersey,” said Cheyla Delrosario. “There’s just so much action, so much passion, so much that we take for granted that happened.”
The church is hosting several Living Stations of the Cross events throughout the day, followed by services in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Organizers said they are hoping the events bring the community together and help spread the importance of faith and collective worship.
Ortega has been praying and walking these streets, every Good Friday, for as long as she can remember.
“It reminds us that we’re all together, that we can continue, and that there’s love out in the world,” said Ortega.