Good Friday

For a nation that is not overtly religious, it amazes me how Good Friday is observed in this country. While the Easter Show still draws strong crowds, the day still has supermarkets, bottle shops and pub bistros closed. Good Friday is filled with mass attendance and street marches honouring the death of Christ

Marrickville is no different.

Woolworths was closed, the Royal Exchange Marrickville only had one room of its pub opened and the catholic church of St Brigid’s held three masses; a Station’s of the Cross at 10:00am, Passion of the Christ at 3:00pm and the Italian procession honouring the death of Christ at 7:30pm.

I’ve always liked attending the 10:00am service. Unlike other catholic churches, the Station’s of the Cross is observed according to contemporary themes – normally Catholics recite a decade of the rosary for each station. So when Christ is condemned to death, St Brigid’s parish observes the injustice that political prisoners today face in some countries. Perhaps even in our own.

This year I decided to attend the 7:30pm procession. It was cold windy evening and the church was full with Italians, their second and third generation children, instead preferring the outside Church grounds. My friend Angelo reckons it’s “the perfect evening to pick up a chick”.

The procession finally began at 8:30pm.

The convoy was led by a man holding the Cross, followed by women clad in robes and veils, children in similar attire holding candles, the parish priests, young fit men fitted in Roman Soldier armoury followed by the open coffin of the dead Christ held up by the shoulders of old Italian men.

We all followed holding candles.

Part of Marrickville Rd is closed so that the procession could proceed through the streets of Marrickville, through Petersham Rd, and Francis St and finally to Livingston Rd. A priest in a ute with a microphone recites prayers followed by singing. This “priest mobile” began last year, because some irate neighbours in Francis St had cut the church’s PA system.

By 9:15pm it was all finished. The police hurriedly replacing barricades on Marrickville Rd with barricades along Livingston Rd. They now had the Greek mass to patrol.