Community comes to Carroll Catholic School to visit the Living Stations of the Cross

 

[April 07, 2023] 

On Friday, March 31st, as students were preparing to depart school for their spring break, those who attend Carroll Catholic School in Lincoln offered a special pre-Easter program with the community invited to attend.

The Living Stations of the Cross was set by 32 students of Carroll Catholic in grades fifth through eighth. The community was invited to attend the event, and the gymnasium bleachers were filled and overflowing with family, friends, and members of the community as the program began.

The gymnasium was dark with only spot lighting on the center of the gymnasium where a young student, was prepared to fulfil the role of Christ on the day of his death. The role of Jesus was played by John Vanos.



The stations of the cross begin with the trial of Christ in station one. In this event as the lights shone on Jesus, there was the beginning of a prayer read by Addison Mahler and Pierce King.

The scene was set with students off to the side bearing false witness against Christ and crying out that he should be crucified. The crowd was offered a choice, should Christ be crucified, and a criminal let go from his conviction, or should the criminal die and Christ be set free. The crowd roared to free the criminal and crucify Christ.



Christ is found guilty and in the second station is forced to carry his cross to the place where he would be crucified. The cross was brought into the center of the gym and the actor took it on his shoulder and began his journey to death.

In the third station Christ falls under the massive weight of the cross but gets up and continues on his journey.



In the fourth station he is visited by his mother Mary played by Kori Singleton.



In station five, Simon of Cyrene played by Thomas Rumler-Gomez appeared in the darked gym and spoke to the audience. He was forced to help Christ bear the weight of the cross. He was unhappy to have been made to do such a task but was given no choice. He then went to the center of the room and took up a portion of the cross.

At station six Veronica played by Kenneadi Kohl visits Jesus. He is wet with sweat, and she wipes his face. Then in station seven, Christ falls for the second time under the weight of the cross he must bear.



In station eight he is visited by the women of Jerusalem who weep for his destiny. He falls for the third and last time in station nine.



In station 10 and 11 Christ is stripped of his robes and nailed to the cross. As Christ is jeered, ridiculed, and tortured he prays to the father to forgive those who cry out against him.

At the onset of station 12, Christ calls out “It is finished.” He then dies on the cross and in station 13 and 14 is removed from the cross and taken to the tomb.

The traditional Stations of the Cross are 14 works of art, that depict what the students of Carroll Catholic reenacted on Friday. The tradition of the stations is to visit each one in reverence and prayer as the crucifixion of Christ is brought to life in the art.



At Carroll Catholic School on Friday, there was a 15th station that is not typically found. That station was the resurrection of Christ on the third day.

The true lesson of Easter cannot be completed without a resurrected Christ. For it is the resurrection that opens the door for all who believe that Christ did indeed suffer on the cross and raise from the dead on the third day. He stayed among his disciples for a little while. Then he ascended into his Heavenly home and his Heavenly Father.

The program, which is not a play but rather a prayer was done very well and with great respect and reverence for the events it portrayed.





At the end of the event, students who participated lined up the length of the gym, and for the first time throughout the event, the hushed audience offered applause for their performance. Afterward, the actors lined the hallway out to the front entrance of the school where they greeted their guests and thanked them for coming.

In addition to the students who were named earlier, those who participated included Reece Entwistle as Pontius Pilate, Bentley Richardson as Barrabus, Tyler Mattingly as King Herod, Mila McCray as Caiaphas the High Priest, Gage May as Dismas the Thief, Adalyn Molitoris as Salome, Sloane Knollenberg as Mary Magdalene, and Gavin Vaini as Nicodemus.

The Roman Soldiers were played by Aidan Grant, Carson Graue, Tate Aue, Keigan Anderson, Brigham Davenport, Griffin Jenness, Carter Fuiten and Justys Burger.

Students who made up the crowd were John Kohl, Preston Maestas, Starla Russell, Amaya Stewart, and Lily Notto.

The women of Jerusalem were Carlie Buttell, Jaclyn Dahmm, Addison Davis and Natalie Smith.

Crew members included Producer/Director Mrs. Kiara Coyle, Producer/Stage Manager Mrs. Jennifer Craig, Assistant to the Director Ella Ciaccio, Wardrobe and Props Coordinator Grace Nutter, Lighting Addison Mahler and Pierce King, and the Greeters and Cardholders were Charlie Helton, Evan Alley and Grayson Sisk.

[Nila Smith]