Hundreds gather for ‘Via Crucis,’ a Pilsen Good Friday tradition

Wearing a crown of thorns and a white robe stained with splotches of red, a man carried a wooden cross down West 18th Street with hundreds of people behind him.

For the 48th year, Catholic devotees marched during the annual “Via Crucis: Living Way of the Cross,” a Good Friday tradition in Pilsen that commemorates the passion and life of Jesus Christ.

“This is just part of our faith,” said Marisol Dominguez, 44, who has been participating in the procession for at least 40 years, adding that, in years past, her mother played one of the 12 women at the foot of Jesus’ cross.

“My mom has always told us that in order for us to give ourselves to God, we just have to walk in his shoes, so as we walk with him, we’re just giving up any troubles that we have.”

As Dominguez walked the milelong stretch of West 18th Street, she prayed for her daughter’s health.

“She’s been having health issues since she was 7, and then everything was going good, and then recently — more health issues,” she said. “But I have faith in God.”

The crowd of several hundred was more sparse than previous years. Dominguez thinks it’s because previous generations who started Via Crucis have been getting older, but she intends to keep bringing her children to keep the tradition going.

It’s the same for Erasmo Martinez, 45, who brought his 7-year-old daughter, Luna Martinez, who was holding the rope that cordons off the actors from the rest of the crowd. It’s a family tradition he hopes to maintain, he said.

“It just feels right,” said Martinez, who played the role of a soldier in previous years. “It’s just a reminder of what Jesus went through. We get to at least be there, a part of it, you know. It brings people together.”