Cathedral hosts powerful commemoration of Lord’s Passion and death #Catholic - <img width="150" height="150" src="https://beaconnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Cathed_5804-1-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" /><p><strong>Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese</strong> in New Jersey in commemorating Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday, April 3, as he presided over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. Before the at 3 p.m. services, the Via Crucis, a reenactment of the Passion of Christ, took place in the cathedral and through the streets in Paterson.</p>
<p>During the service, a Passion story from the Gospel of John was read, and 10 solemn intercessions were offered. To show reverence during the solemn service, clergy, lay ministers, and the faithful genuflected before or kissed the cross, and the clergy prostrated themselves before the altar or kneeled and prayed in silence. Then, Holy Communion was distributed. St. John’s altar was stripped bare without cloth, candles, or a cross.</p>
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<p>No Masses are celebrated on Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence.</p>
<p>Msgr. Geno Sylva, the cathedral’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects; Father Starli J. Castanos, a St. John’s parochial vicar; and the deacons of the cathedral joined Bishop Sweeney in participating in the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 24px"><strong>BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI</strong></div>
<div> [<a href="https://beaconnj.org/cathedral-hosts-powerful-commemoration-of-lords-passion-and-death/">See image gallery at beaconnj.org</a>] </p>
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</div> - <img width="150" height="150" src="https://beaconnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Cathed_5804-1-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in commemorating Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday, April 3, as he presided over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. Before the at 3 p.m. services, the Via Crucis, a reenactment of the Passion of Christ, took place in the cathedral and through the streets in Paterson. During the service, a Passion story from the Gospel of John was read, and 10 solemn intercessions were offered. To show reverence during the solemn service, clergy, lay ministers,
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in commemorating Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday, April 3, as he presided over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. Before the at 3 p.m. services, the Via Crucis, a reenactment of the Passion of Christ, took place in the cathedral and through the streets in Paterson.
During the service, a Passion story from the Gospel of John was read, and 10 solemn intercessions were offered. To show reverence during the solemn service, clergy, lay ministers, and the faithful genuflected before or kissed the cross, and the clergy prostrated themselves before the altar or kneeled and prayed in silence. Then, Holy Communion was distributed. St. John’s altar was stripped bare without cloth, candles, or a cross.
No Masses are celebrated on Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence.
Msgr. Geno Sylva, the cathedral’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects; Father Starli J. Castanos, a St. John’s parochial vicar; and the deacons of the cathedral joined Bishop Sweeney in participating in the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Cathedral hosts powerful commemoration of Lord’s Passion and death #Catholic –
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in commemorating Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday, April 3, as he presided over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. Before the at 3 p.m. services, the Via Crucis, a reenactment of the Passion of Christ, took place in the cathedral and through the streets in Paterson.
During the service, a Passion story from the Gospel of John was read, and 10 solemn intercessions were offered. To show reverence during the solemn service, clergy, lay ministers, and the faithful genuflected before or kissed the cross, and the clergy prostrated themselves before the altar or kneeled and prayed in silence. Then, Holy Communion was distributed. St. John’s altar was stripped bare without cloth, candles, or a cross.
No Masses are celebrated on Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence.
Msgr. Geno Sylva, the cathedral’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects; Father Starli J. Castanos, a St. John’s parochial vicar; and the deacons of the cathedral joined Bishop Sweeney in participating in the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
![Cathedral hosts powerful commemoration of Lord’s Passion and death #Catholic - Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in commemorating Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday, April 3, as he presided over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. Before the at 3 p.m. services, the Via Crucis, a reenactment of the Passion of Christ, took place in the cathedral and through the streets in Paterson.
During the service, a Passion story from the Gospel of John was read, and 10 solemn intercessions were offered. To show reverence during the solemn service, clergy, lay ministers, and the faithful genuflected before or kissed the cross, and the clergy prostrated themselves before the altar or kneeled and prayed in silence. Then, Holy Communion was distributed. St. John’s altar was stripped bare without cloth, candles, or a cross.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
No Masses are celebrated on Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence.
Msgr. Geno Sylva, the cathedral’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects; Father Starli J. Castanos, a St. John’s parochial vicar; and the deacons of the cathedral joined Bishop Sweeney in participating in the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/cathedral-hosts-powerful-commemoration-of-lords-passion-and-death-catholic-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-led-the-paterson-diocese-in-new-jersey-in-commemorating-christs-sacrifice-on-the.jpg)