Death came at nearly every turn in Pilsen on Friday.
The hooded figure carrying a scythe stalked a dinner among (mostly) friends, took part in an agonizing walk down 18th Street and finally attended a mock crucifixion on Calvary, which was actually Harrison Park.
Juan Corral, a Pilsen resident, played the role of death in the neighborhood’s annual Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) procession. It wasn’t Corral’s first time participating in the event that attracts hundreds each year.
“Compared to when I played Jesus, it’s a big turnaround,” said Corral, 53. “It really hit me when I looked Jesus straight in the eyes when he was on the cross, and he looked back at me. With the music, it gave me shivers.”
The tradition dates back to 1977 when parishioners of Providence of God Catholic Church at 18th Street and Union Avenue began reenacting the final days of Jesus to mark Good Friday, the day when Jesus is said to have been killed before rising from the dead on Easter.
The day began at the church, in the basement auditorium where volunteers acted out iconic scenes, from the Last Supper through Jesus being crowned with thorns. Then the procession followed 18th Street for a mile to Harrison Park for the crucifixion and then finally ended at St. Pius V Catholic Church on Ashland Avenue for final prayers.
Priscilla Bonilla, 18, who portrayed Mary, helps Ernest Rionaula, who depicted Jesus Christ, get ready before the 46th annual “Via Crucis: Living Way of the Cross,” a Lenten tradition that recounts the passion and death of Jesus Christ, in the Pilsen neighborhood, Friday, April 7, 2023.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Isaac Barrera, who oversaw the procession this year, said it was the best-attended procession he could remember. Attendance had declined since 2020, but Barrera, 46, said the crowd on Friday was even bigger than when he played Jesus seven years ago.
About 40 people volunteered to act this year. In addition to Jesus, death and well-known figures such as Mary, Pontius Pilate and Judas, there were dozens of actors playing he roles of the apostles, women of Jerusalem and Roman soldiers.
In addition to Providence and St. Pius V, the third participating church this year was St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church on Roosevelt Road and Halsted Street, where the volunteer who played Jesus attends church.
Ernest Rionaula, an Austin resident, had never heard of the tradition but felt blessed to be offered the role, as it gave him a chance to deepen his faith.
“It does involve what you might call acting,” said Rionaula, 21. “But you go deeper into what this means for us as believers.”
Rionaula was unflinching as well over 1,000 people watched him haul the large wooden cross behind a Roman soldier on a horse. The crowd could hear his screams and the sound of a soldier along with religious songs that blared from a van at the head of the procession.
The acting was enhanced by special effects that included a whip being dipped in a red liquid so that blood stains appeared when Jesus was scourged and a blood-squirting spear for when a soldier pierced Jesus side.
Checking in from Calvary, ehem I mean Harrison Park today, where about 1,000 people have gathered for the annual Via Crucis tradition in Pilsen. For @Suntimes pic.twitter.com/g4qTqbZ5al
— Michael Loria (@mchael_mchael) April 7, 2023
“It really makes you feel like you’re there,” said Elizabeth Lizzo, a Hinsdale resident who drove to the city with her husband Tom to witness Friday’s procession.
The pair began attending the event several years, first learning about it when Tom Lizzo worked on 18th Street.
“We don’t speak Spanish,” he said. “But we know the story.”
For others, the procession takes on a significance beyond religion.
“No matter your faith, it bring the community together,” said Isaura Salinas, a lifelong Pilsen resident.
The 37-year-old returned this year after missing it the past few years, and she brought her sons for the first time.
The boys seemed content after Jesus was taken down, because the crowd dispersed and room opened up for them to play soccer with an empty coffee cup, but she said she hoped the procession had made an impression.
“It’s an opportunity for me to get them exposed to these kind of things,” she said. “Let them see it’s not just corporate world out there. There are other things.”
Michael Loria is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.
