People of all faiths will gather on Good Friday to pray, sing and reflect upon today’s social justice issues as they listen to community leaders connect current issues with the sufferings endured by Christ in his Passion and death.  All are welcome to attend.

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory will open the 31st annual Good Friday Pilgrimage with prayer at 9 a.m. on the steps of the state Capitol on Friday, April 22.

Each Station of the Cross will be prayed in front of buildings in downtown Atlanta that best exemplify, in modern form, the object of Christ’s Passion. The journey continues from the state Capitol to locations that include the Seas Historic Marker on Washington and Mitchell Streets (City Hall), Trinity United Methodist Church, the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Hurt Park in front of the United Way Building, the Freedom Quilt Memorial and Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

The pilgrimage will end at approximately 1 p.m. at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King’s grave sites at 413 Auburn Ave. A bus will be provided for those who need a ride back to the state Capitol.

Reflections at each Station of the Cross will be offered in a variety of languages including English, Spanish, Swahili, Chinese, Polish, Indonesian, Italian, Creole, Vietnamese, Portuguese and French.

“What makes our Atlanta Good Friday Pilgrimage unique is its remembrance of Christ’s Passion expressed in modern form before the urban buildings that represent the perpetrators of Christ’s Passion and the current justice issues that today cause the suffering of Christ,” said Dr. Heidi Tauscher, director of parish and social justice ministries for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.