Students at Saint Dominic Academy commemorated Good Friday on March 30 by performing the Living Stations of the Cross at the school’s Auburn campus.

While many Catholic schools are closed on Good Friday, St. Dominic president Donald Fournier said students attended for a half day so they would have the opportunity to witness the Stations of the Cross. Students from both the Lewiston elementary school campus and the Auburn middle and high school campus attended.

Nearly 40 eighth graders, dressed in period costumes, took fellow students, faculty, staff, and family members on a journey that began with Jesus’ prayers to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, continued with his betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, and concluded with the placing of his body in the tomb.

The students played the parts of Jesus, St. Peter, Judas, Pontius Pilate, the Blessed Mother, Simon of Cyrene, St. Joseph of Arimathea, and Roman soldiers, among other roles.

The Stations of the Cross is a devotion that dates back to the early days of the Church. They are prayed throughout Lent, but most especially on Good Friday, the day when Christians recall Christ’s passion and death. It is the only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated.