Sceneries for the Via Crucis in Madrid
Madrid, August 3, 2011 – A presentation was made of the scenery that will cover the Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross to be held on the Paseo de Recoletos on August 19. The WYD Via Crucis will feature “pasos” (or statues used in Spanish Holy Week processions) from 12 Spanish cities. Each of these images illustrates a Station of the Cross.
The scenery has been designed by Reset Architecture. Eduardo Delgado, Project Manager and Studio Director, emphasized the fact that “our goal has been to combine the different dimensions and styles conta
ined in each of the different ‘pasos’, all with one scenery.”
The various ‘pasos’ that make up the Via Crucis will be accompanied by structures “in the form of a canopy” that will help shield them from any adverse weather. The back of each structure will feature texts related to each of these scenes, using the colors red and white. Delgado said that with this scenery, “the leading role will be taken by the images.”
At World Youth Day, He Took Up the Cross in Toronto
Interview with Robert Légère, Who Depicted Jesus in the Stations
TORONTO, DEC. 25, 2002 (Zenit.org) Robert Légère is best known for his depiction of Jesus during the Way of the Cross last summer at World Youth Day.
Légère, 25, was born in St. Louis de Kent, New Brunswick. He graduated from the University of Moncton with a degree in finance, and attended the Information Technology Institute in Moncton. After graduating, he moved to Toronto where he has spent the past two years working for Multiple Retirement Services. He has no theatrical training.
Robert was first introduced to World Youth Day by his girlfriend who first attended WYD in her home country of the Philippines, then in Rome two years ago. He says: “I never dreamed I would be playing Jesus in an event like this.”
ZENIT: Christmas is the coming of Christ among us. The Way of the Cross in Toronto was, in many ways, a coming of Christ among the people on the principal streets of a modern city. What did the Way of the Cross mean for the people of Toronto, and what did it mean for you?
Légère: It’s hard to say what the Way of the Cross really meant for the people of Toronto in general, but I do know that it was a very powerful experience for the entire city. Hundreds of thousands of people really entered into the pain and suffering of Jesus’ final hours on earth. Some people have stopped me and told me that they where crying as they watched me, as Jesus, dying on the cross.
The entire city came to a standstill that Friday evening, July 26, 2002. I was very moved at seeing thousands of people on their knees as we moved up University Avenue, in the middle of downtown Toronto. People were looking at me and praying. It was a very strange sensation.
I witnessed so much faith and piety that evening. I never thought that something like this would happen in Toronto or, for that matter, in Canada. Having the Way of the Cross re-enacted right in the heart of downtown Toronto was a profound symbol and public statement.
[WYD 2002 coordinator] Father Thomas Rosica and Father Robert Gendreau, the coordinator of the Stations of the Cross, had told us very often that, unless a country and a people like Canada reclaim their deeply Christian origins, we would remain unfaithful to our identity. At first, I didn’t know what they meant. Now, I know exactly what they meant.
For me, the Stations of the Cross was a unique experience. I know I was there, and have the tape to prove it. But it was just my body that was there. My mind wasn’t really there. It was as if something took my body and made me go through the movements and actions. Someone else was leading me that night.
I really don’t remember what happened after the second station. Someone else led me… …Read more
