Parishioners re-enact Stations of the Cross

The parishioner dressed as Pontius Pilate stood outside St. John of God Roman Catholic Church in Central Islip and asked the crowd which of the two prisoners he should free: Barabbas or Jesus Christ?

"Let Barabbas go!" they shouted in Spanish.

"And what should I do with Jesus?" Pilate asked.

"Crucify him! Crucify him!"

The Good Friday scene played out at churches across Long Island and around the world as Christians commemorated, and in some cases re-enacted, the day Jesus was crucified nearly 2,000 years ago.

The faithful believe that two days later he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, the most important day of the Christian calendar.

The re-enactment at St. John, a tradition for more than 25 years, attracted about 500 of the faithful. They walked the streets surrounding the church as they followed a man portraying Jesus through the 14 Stations of the Cross -- from his condemnation to death to his journey to Calvary carrying the cross, and finally his crucifixion and death.

Parishioners dressed as Roman soldiers pretended to whip and beat Jesus as he struggled to carry the huge cross.

"Let's go!" the soldiers shouted in Spanish. "Walk! Move it!"

For many of the faithful, it was a moving re-enactment of a day that is both solemn and joyful -- a prelude to the Easter Resurrection. Long Island is home to 1.7 million Roman Catholics, according to the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The Rev. Christopher Nowak, the Central Islip parish's pastor, said the re-enactment was "like a catechetical tool" because children who attend get to see "the drama of our Lord's Passion in real life."

He said the re-enactment also serves to help Latino immigrants feel connected to their homelands, where Good Friday processions are common. The parish serves 3,200 families -- about 60 percent of them Latino.

"This is probably being acted out in every Spanish community, not only in the U.S. but throughout the world," he said.

"It is a very beautiful day; a day of reflection," Carmen Rodriguez, 47, a member of the church choir, said in Spanish. Her daughter, Patricia, 18, said, "This is the day we repay him and give him thanks and pray for him."

One of the "soldiers," Jorge Leon, 48, said he felt a little uncomfortable playing his role. "I feel bad," he said. "One has to play the role of the bad guy, and I'm not bad."

He called Good Friday "a sacred day" in which the faithful remember how Jesus "gave his life for us sinners to save the entire world."

While the re-enactment was conducted in Spanish and attracted mainly Latinos, some non-Latino parishioners also attended.

"It's so touching, I want to cry," said Joan Walsh, 81. "I wish I brought my grandchildren. Even though it is in Spanish, you know what is happening."