ATLANTA—Pilgrims took to the streets of Atlanta March 30 for the 38th annual ecumenical Good Friday pilgrimage, beginning at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and ending at the crypt of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta.

Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III holds the cross as students Elder Alcantara, of the Lyke House and GSU, and La’renzia Henderson, Cristo Rey freshman, lead a reflection. Photo By Thomas Spink

Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III opened the event, called the Urban Way of the Cross, with a reflection in the sanctuary of the Shrine.

Students from Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School and Lyke House AUC Catholic Center helped lead the stations. Justice and Peace Ministries of the Archdiocese of Atlanta sponsored the event.

Pilgrims used a book of reflections for the 14 stations from Catholic Relief Services to “walk alongside Christ on the journey of his Passion” and to remember brothers and sisters around the world who experience suffering and poverty daily.

The reflections encouraged participants to share hope with those in desperate situations, including victims of natural disasters and civil wars, or violence in communities; to support struggling families; to devise solutions to problems and to get up again after failures.

Pilgrims prayed in unison at the closing of the Urban Way of the Cross: “Christ Jesus, we have walked the way of the cross with you. We have seen your sorrows and sufferings and have experienced the hope and joy that a single moment of love can give … As we continue our personal and communal journeys, we ask that you bless our efforts to love and serve one another.”