Central Islip church re-enacts Stations of the Cross

At about 11:30 a.m. Friday, the actor playing Jesus Christ gave out a last breath and "died" on the cross in front of St. John of God Roman Catholic Church in Central Islip.

Hundreds of mourners, many of them immigrants from Latin America where live street re-enactments of the Stations of the Cross are common, knelt on the pavement to mark the critical moment on Good Friday.

For them, as the church's associate pastor, the Rev. Humberto Contreras, stressed, the re-enactment of Jesus' final hours was not simply a theatrical show complete with period costumes. It was a deeply religious and spiritual experience underscored by both the pain of Christ's crucifixion and the hope of his resurrection on Easter.

"It's not just a holiday. It's something you have to reflect on," said Beatrize Valdes, 40, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who helped organize the event.

She was among hundreds of thousands of Christians who commemorated Good Friday on Long Island, and millions around the world including pilgrims who flocked to the Vatican.

The Stations of the Cross in Central Islip included parishioners playing the roles of Roman guards wearing helmets and carrying shields who yelled "cobarde!" - "coward!" - at Jesus as they walked him down local streets to his crucifixion. "Christ" fell three times as he tried to carry a large wooden cross, and was met by his grieving mother, "Mary," along the way.

Finally, he was stripped of his white robe and "crucified" on the cross. Some of the estimated 500 worshipers cried.

The re-enactment "was very beautiful," Rosa Iratteta, 56, an immigrant from El Salvador, said in Spanish. "It became emotional. Tears came to my eyes."

She said Roman Catholics had performed the Stations of the Cross in her hometown in El Salvador, but it was never as "emotional" as the one in Central Islip.

Sister Agnes Claudia, head of the parish's Hispanic Apostolate, said the Good Friday commemoration is "a day very dear to the Hispanics because it reminds them of the processions in their countries. It's a way of expressing their faith and uniting the suffering they have with the passion of Christ, which gives meaning to their lives and gives them hope."