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After years of pandemic hiatus, Calgary’s Roman Catholics will embark on their Good Friday Cross Procession with a Portuguese taste.
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Town’s Catholic diocese is transferring its annual outside stroll depicting Christ’s ardour and crucifixion from its regular route in streets close to the town’s core and round St. Mary’s Cathedral to Our Girl of Fatima Parish at 4747 thirtieth St. SAY
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The stroll, which welcomes all Calgarians, will happen on April 7 at 9:30 am. beginning on the church constructed 27 years in the past by Portuguese immigrants, the proud pastor Rev. Fabio DeSouza.
“That is the primary time we do that for Good Friday for the (complete) diocese,” says DeSouza, whose companies are held in Portuguese and English.
“Lots of people will come, folks will name and ask about this occasion.”
The stroll, which can final about an hour and mark 14 Stations of the Cross, will proceed a couple of block across the church with marchers carrying Portuguese-made statues of Christ carrying the cross and the Virgin Mary of Sorrows, DeSouza mentioned.
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A Good Friday Mass will comply with on the church at 3:00 p.m., whereas Roman Catholic Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary will concurrently oversee a service on the St. Mary’s Cathedral.
The disruption on account of COVID-19 has led the diocese to chart a unique course for the annual Stations of the Cross, the priest mentioned, including it’s the first time the procession has been held because the pandemic.
“For the reason that pandemic, (the diocese) has not organized the occasion downtown they usually knew that now we have this custom, so the expectation for us is completely different,” he mentioned, including that it might turn into an annual follow.
“We are actually excited about subsequent 12 months.”
Lately, the congregation’s progress has been fueled primarily by immigration from primarily Portuguese-speaking Brazil, says DeSouza, who himself got here to Canada from South America’s largest nation in 2017.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
