Worshippers once again returned in person for the annual Passion of the Christ Reenactment in Bedford Park with several hundred parishioners and passersby seen watching members of Our Lady of Refuge congregation reenacting the Good Friday procession and  crucifixion.

 

The event was held outside Our Lady of Refuge church, located at 290 East 196th Street on Friday, April 7, as the street was shut down between Bainbridge Avenue and Briggs Avenue.

The annual Bedford Park event is believed to have started in the 1980s and the current pastor of Our Lady of Refuge church, Father Patrick D’Arcy, said he has been overseeing it for the last four years.

 

With several masses or prayer services held in both English and Spanish each day during Holy Week, which ran from Palm Sunday, April 2, to Holy Saturday, April 8, including a large turn out on Good Friday, April 7, D’Arcy told Norwood News, “I’m very appreciative for the community coming out; they’re proud of their faith.”

As in years past, officers from the NYPD blocked off the local area from vehicle traffic as the faithful followed “Jesus,” played by church member Antonio Gonzalez and a group of Roman soldiers, also played by local church members, along the procession route to the point of the reenactment of the crucifixion.

 

D’Arcy later said of the performers, “It was beautiful; they did a very nice job. That was the Passion play. They worked for three months preparing and practicing.”

Meanwhile, in Norwood, also on Good Friday, at St. Brendan Church, located at 333 East 206th Street, holy statues were seen covered in purple cloth, a Catholic representation of penance, preparation, and sacrifice, as the congregation joined together in prayer to mark the religious day.

 

On Easter Sunday, after one of the masses at St. Brendan, we spoke to Ana, a member of the congregation about what the religious holiday meant to her. Speaking in Spanish, she said, “The importance of this for me is that the Lord resurrected on a day like today, and I fundamentally believe in the resurrection. Yes, it’s a very important day for the Church and the Church celebrates greatly the resurrection of our Lord, because often times [even though] we believe that Jesus resurrected, we don’t attach any great importance to it. Instead, we just think he rose from the dead and that’s it.”

Also on Easter Sunday, we spoke with lector Gustavo Gonzalez about the significance of Easter for the congregation. A lector or reader is someone who reads lessons during a church service. Speaking also in Spanish, Gonzalez said, “Well, it’s important for everyone, ourselves as Catholics, Christians, learning and knowing once again the celebration that we had here in the church and in this community, which is very big, a community which speaks both English and Spanish, one in which we celebrate once again the passion of our savior, Jesus Christ.”

 

Gonzalez added in part, “But more than that, today is a celebration of the resurrection, celebrating that with Him, we all have life because we all died with him, for those of us who believe that, as we do, and we really believe in Him and also, we’re going to survive with Him, and we are very happy and joyful that our Lord, as we say, ‘He is risen!’ Blessed is the Lord.”

We took the occasion to discuss with Gonzalez the ongoing mental health crisis in the City (and country) and a recent report by Gothamist regarding evangelist, Raul de la Cruz, who has reported mental health problems and who was shot by police in Kingsbridge Heights on Sunday, March 26. The shooting happened after his father called for help when, armed with a kitchen knife, De la Cruz experienced a mental health episode. The publication reported that the man’s father, Santo de la Cruz, said his son had stopped taking his medication [to treat his mental health problems] because evangelists “don’t believe in that.”

 

We asked Gonzalez if he had any thoughts on the matter. He said, in part, “For this, you know, when we give our response on this subject, we always consult with the Catholic Church catechism but I don’t believe, and I haven’t heard, that The Pope [Francis] is against this [the taking of medication to treat mental health problems].”

He continued, “What we always say within the church is that God is merciful. He has mercy for anyone who has mental health problems and if they need medicine, the Lord is the one who gives man the intelligence to create medication that serves to help all our brothers and sisters.”

 

Continuing in Spanish, Gonzalez added, “It’s been accepted that there has been a pandemic, for example, here in the United States because of all the opioids and so many drugs like I don’t know.. fentanyl…all these names of these drugs which are so powerful….not only in this country but all over the world. So, due to these mental problems that are happening on top of all this, we see that in this country and in many states, they are already legalizing marijuana which I, personally, am against.”

Given the difference between the two situations, on the one hand concerns over potential addiction and on the other, the need to take medication to treat mental illnesses, we asked Gonzalez if perhaps churches had a role to play in better clarifying this difference for church goers in case their members were potentially confused about it.

 

The lector replied, “Yes, the church is aware of this, that when there is a mental problem, they need to take their medication, and if there’s a problem that they may need, for example, an exorcist, then the church knows what the person needs in this regard, but the church never says to people not to take their medication, of course.”

Among other activities, St. Brendan runs a leisure club for adults of 55 and over, and invites all seniors to come and enjoy Wednesday afternoons for activities like Bingo, horse racing, and outings to Atlantic City, theatre plays, and more. Refreshments are served and all are welcome. The church also hosts its next Food Pantry Distribution Day for those in need on Saturday, May 13, at 7 a.m. [convent location] and repeats every second Saturday of the month.

 

Click here for our recent story about the future of St. Brendan Catholic School.

 

Meanwhile, Our Lady of Refuge church, in conjunction with the Fordham / Bedford Coalition, runs ‘Refuge House,’ which assists local families on immigration matters, provides family assistance as well as free programs for children. For more information, contact Refuge House at (718) 733-2557 and for more information on the schedule for Our Lady of Refuge church and upcoming events, visit https://ourladyof refuge.com/.