On Good Friday, Cardinal Vincent marked the Lord’s Passion in central London by joining the Walk of Witness and attending the Wintershall Passion play in Trafalgar Square before leading the Solemn Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion in Westminster Cathedral.
At 12 noon, Cardinal Vincent joined Christians of different denominations in the Walk of Witness which began at Methodist Central Hall. The procession, led by a man carrying a cross symbolising Christ’s journey to Calvary, made its away along Victoria Street to the amazement of many tourists and shoppers who stopped to take photos. On the steps of Westminster Cathedral, Cardinal Vincent explained that Christ’s suffering on the Cross includes all the suffering of the world throughout history to our present day, encompassing persecution, injustice, and every form of suffering. The Walk of Witness returned along Victoria Street to Westminster Abbey.
Immediately following, the Cardinal attended the Passion Play in Trafalgar Square, performed by the Wintershall Players, where he led the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer.
At 3pm, the Cardinal presided over the Solemn Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion in a packed Westminster Cathedral. Among the concelebrants were chaplains of the Cathedral and Bishop Mark Jabalé, Emeritus Bishop of Menevia.
In his homily, the Cardinal said: ‘Today, we come to venerate the Cross, in its stark cruelty and in its penetrating beauty.’
‘As we come forward,’ he added, ‘we may hand over to the Lord every burden of our sin, of our dismay at failure, of our broken hearts. We may place at the foot of the Cross every sorrow and suffering of our broken world, including that of his disciples who still today are being martyred.’
‘This Cross is the moment in which we see beyond the immense and relentless suffering in our world, which it represents,’ he continued. ‘For on this Cross Jesus is raised up not only agony and pain, but also into glory; for his glory is to be, in his being, in his body, the unwavering total love of God for his creation.'
Additional photos from the Walk of Witness and the Solemn Commemoration of the Lord's Passion are available here.
