Good Friday

St Peter (San Pedro) Church
Hartford, CT

Last year I went to St Peter's Church for Good Friday afternoon. This morning, I finally got around to writing about that experience and posting an entry on my blog (link above and URL/link below).

Because it was such a bizarre experience for me last year, I wanted to make a point to attend this year to compare and see if it was more understandable this year. Last year, I assumed that the service was a mixture of traditional Roman Catholicism (Latin, pre-V2) and Spanish devotions and language. However, I have recently begun to become more acquainted with traditional RC rites. And I now wonder if what I experienced last year was merely a Spanish version of pre-V2 rubrics.

St. Peter's is also known for its live street performance of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. Since I missed that last year, I was hoping to make up for it this year. However, my expectations on both major points were dashed this year too.

On Thursday after lunch at Ashley's Restaurant, my coworker Tony and I walked across the street to check the schedule for Good Friday. The paper posted on the front doors of the church showed: 1 pm VIACRUCIS / STATIONS OF THE CROSS. We noticed that the main entrance steps were in dangerously poor condition. Yellow construction tape was in place to block use of most of the steps except for the steps right in front of the main door. However, there was a long narrow hole where the grout had fallen and you could see the hollow space beneath the steps. God help the woman who might get her high heel caught in that hole.

On Friday, I arrived a bit early and had to use the side door to enter because the front doors were still locked. The front of the church was filled with people in costume and preparations were underway. I quietly went to the back of the front section and waited.

Since I don't speak and/or understand Spanish, I had no idea what was happening. In any case, the Stations of the Cross did NOT occur outside as usual but remained inside the church. I think it might have been because rain was forecast (indeed, between the Stations and the service, I went outside and noticed the ground was all wet).

Xeroxed copies of some sort of program or booklet of hymns were distributed. The Stations began with a short procession (including 3 Knights of Columbus in their usual regalia) from the back of the church to the Sanctuary where the Stations were performed. I could kind of follow along but everything was in Spanish. The booklet was a minor help but it clearly did not include the script. I was able to spot the words to several songs and follow along.

The basic process was announcement of the Station, a short reading by a narrator followed by a prayer/reflection said by the priest, and then a short song/hymn. This was repeated for each station. There was a banner-like sign for each station. Actors in costume played the major parts: Jesus, Mary, Veronica, Simon, Pilot, and Roman soldiers. They didn't really do the crucifixion.

 

The Stations concluded about 2:30 pm. There was a short break until 3 pm when the "Celebration of the Passion of the Lord" began. That lasted about 90 minutes. When it was over, I walked back to the office and arrived about 4:50 pm and was out the door shortly after 5 pm.

 



The "Celebration of the Passion of the Lord" followed almost exactly the text in the "Celebremos!  (Let Us Celebrate!)" Missal (Spanish-English) I found at the back of the church. I was disappointed that this year's service was not a traditional rite tinged with Spanish rituals but a regular Spanish version of typical, regular mainstream Roman Catholicism.

The Spanish music was much more lively. I didn't hear the pipe organ but the acoustic guitar was pretty (and not harsh or singer-song writer folky).

Kissing the Crucifix.

The one thing that I found repulsive was lining up to kiss the crucifix. They processed a rather small crucifix (about 3.5 ft tall) around the church and then stood at the front while everyone went up (like going to communion) to "pay respect" to the cross. Most people kissed the feet or the side of the Jesus figure. An altar boy stood at the side and wiped away kiss with a cloth (sort of like wiping a sloppy kiss from your Grandma or Grandpa). Since everyone was going up, I felt compelled to play along. So I went up and genuflected as a courtesy and then returned to my seat.

By examining the church bulletins I found on the Internet, I learned that the parish had changed priests since last year (from Fr. Dairo E Diaz to Fr. Carlos Echavarría). Reportedly, Fr Diaz is an Air Force Chaplain and was deployed to Afghanistan.

In the end, I felt sorry for the parishioners of St. Peter's Church. Their beautiful church is fading away and in a short while the diocese will likely close it due to the high cost of necessary repairs. In addition to the problem with the front steps, I saw peeling paint on the ceiling and walls and faded and darkened murals. This is a poor area and the cost of maintaining such a grand structure will eventually out distance the people. Already the original priest house and school building have been spun off. And since last year, the parish has been combined with another Spanish parish about 2 miles north.

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Links:
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2015/04/out-of-this-world-foreign-affair.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ashleys-restaurant-hartford
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Written Monday 28 March 2016.