Catholic devotees gather for ‘Penitential Walk for Life’

Thousands of Catholic faithful and clergy members on Good Friday gathered for the “Penitential Walk for Life” in observance of the traditional rites for passion, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. 

The Penitential Walk for Life, spearheaded by the Council of the Laity of the Philippines, started as at 4:30 a.m. and ended at 9:00 a.m.

Photo: Danny Pata

Devotees prayed through 14 Stations of the Cross, with the First Station set up at Rajah Sulayman Park along Roxas Boulevard in Manila and the 14th Station at the Manila Cathedral in the city's Intramuros district.

The Stations of the Cross is the annual Lenten devotion of the Catholic faithful in which they reflect on the 14 key events on the day leading to Jesus’s crucifixion.

Stations of the Cross:

• 1st Station – Rajah Sulayman Park
• 2nd Station – Palacio de Maynila
• 3rd Station – Diamond Hotel
• 4th Station – Boulevard Mansion
• 5th Station – Grand Riviera Suites
• 6th Station – Bayview Hotel
• 7th Station – Luneta Park (Before the Flag Pole)
• 8th Station – Kalaw cor. Luneta Park
• 9th Station – Ninoy Aquino Park
• 10th Station – 10th Street
• 11th Station – Philippine Ports Authority Building
• 12th Station – Veterans Building
• 13th Station – Arzobispo Street
• 14th Station – Manila Cathedral

This Lent's “Penitential Walk for Life,” according to the organizers, serves as a campaign against drug-related killings and the re-imposition of capital punishment in the country.

Photo: Danny Pata

Station III, in which Jesus falls for the first time was offered to lawmakers, with prayers that they should set aside the re-imposition of death penalty in the country. 

Station XI, when Jesus was nailed on the cross, was offered to those suffering from drug addiction. 

Prayers for Station XIII, in which Jesus was taken down from the cross, was offered to victims of alleged extrajudicial killings and the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle led the prayer for Station XIV (last station) in front of Manila Cathedral.

Photo: Danny Pata

“Pinatay si Hesus. Ang nakakalungkot na ang mga uri ng pagpatay na naranasan niya ay patuloy pa rin. Subalit ang mabuting balita, may katarungan ang Diyos, bubuhayin ng Diyos ang pinatay ng kasalanan at ng mundo,” Tagle said.

“Sa ating paglalakbay kasama si Hesus at ang marami pang nakakaranas ng kamatayan sa ating mundo sa ngayon. Sana po masindak tayo at malungkot. Huwag po nating hayaan na ang kultura ng pag-patay ay kumalat. Kasi po baka masanay tayo at hindi natin mamalayan na tayo ay nagpapalaganap na ng isang mentalidad, isang gawi ng buhay na ang dala dala pala ay kamatayan,” he added.

Tagle also urged the faithful not to remain as spectators, saying, “Hindi pu-pwede na tayo ay nagmamasid, hihikbi lamang at magrereklamo. Kailangang kumilos bawat isa, sa maliliit na pamamaraan kung papaano palalakasin at palalaganapin ang kultura ng pagibig, malasakit, pagdadamayan, pag-galang na siyang nagtataguyod ng buhay.”

In February, hundreds of the Catholic faithful participated in the “Walk for Life,” which was organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and the Council of the Laity of the Philippines to condemn alleged extrajudicial killings and the reimposition of death penalty. —LBG, GMA News