Believers walk the Stations of the Cross along Main Street

Bonnie Daiello wanted to take the time in her life to “smell the roses,” after she was shaken by the experience of a recent cardiac arrest. 

“It was very important for me to do it,” said Daiello, who was among the hundreds in attendance at the Stations of the Cross walk on the morning of Good Friday, March 29. “It meant a lot.”

A Good Friday tradition in countries around the world, the walk grew out of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem and involves a journey between 14 stations along a path that represent different stages in the story of Jesus’ passion and death. 

Established in Sarasota by the Men’s Breakfast Prayer Group at Church of the Redeemer in 1996, the event is held jointly by the church and the Sarasota Ministerial Association, while also involving clergy from different area congregations.

Although it originally took place on the church grounds, the walk grew in attendance and came to encompass the current route from Regal Hollywood to Church of the Redeemer. 

Patrick Redmond was another pilgrim who felt compelled to come out to downtown Sarasota that morning, saying he wanted to join the community in a public display of faith during the Easter season. 

“I think it’s something that is sorely needed in the world today,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing to recognize Christ’s passion and suffering and death, and his rising from the dead."