Observing Good Friday on the top of Stone Mountain

Lea esta historia en Español aquí.

On Good Friday, hundreds of people—ranging from toddlers in the arms of their parents to 80- and 90-year-olds—walked the rocky and sometimes steep path to the top of Stone Mountain, in an annual observance of Jesus’s crucifixion. Attendees followed as a group of actors from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Briarcliff Heights performed the Stations of the Cross, a 14-step Catholic ritual that begins with Jesus being condemned to death, continues through his three falls under the weight of the cross he’s made to carry, and ends as he’s laid in his tomb. 

On the walk up Stone Mountain, parishioners prayed and sang hymns; the actors made their way through the crowds as they screamed, “Move, people, move!” and a whip echoed as it hit the cross carried by the actor portraying Jesus. A Christian observance for mourning and reflection, Good Friday is believed to be the day Jesus died for the sins of humanity—and a precursor to Easter, when he’s believed to have risen from his tomb.

Though Friday’s event drew attendees from around the world, most were from Mexico—where the majority of the population is Roman Catholic—and other Latin American countries. “It is impressive to see how the Hispanic people respond to the call of faith,” Constanza A. Vasquez told 285 South in Spanish. Originally from Colombia, Constanza is a parishioner at La Misión Católica Nuestra Señora de las Americas in Lilburn and has helped put together Stone Mountain’s Way of the Cross gathering for the past 24 years. 

At each station, Catholics read a prayer and a passage from Scripture, and reflected on the meaning of the cross. As they walked up the hill, younger adults helped the elders using canes to climb the steeper sections of the trail, which has an elevation gain of about 700 feet. Some attendees carried small crosses, while others wore custom-made T-shirts with religious references. One man had a shirt that read Renovado @ Carismatico … 100% Catolico: “Renovated @ Charismatic …100% Catholic.” 

Actors have performed this ritual for each of the past 10 years; this year, they met 16 times for rehearsal over the course of two months. Also this year, the Way of the Cross happened just days before the death of Pope Francis, who passed on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis ascended to the papacy in 2013, becoming the first non-European pope in more than 1,300 years—and the first Latin American pontiff ever. During his leadership of the Catholic Church, he became well known as an advocate for migrants and refugees and a critic of human-caused climate change; Francis also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages, and humanitarian access to Gazans in the region. 

Attendees had different reasons for showing up. Volunteer Marcela Galindo told 285 South she was praying for migrants. Héctor Eligi, originally from Mexico, came for the first time with his son and grandchildren, and said he was praying for the well-being of his family. Olga Diaz, one of the actresses, said she was praying for souls in Purgatory and for the sick. 

When parishioners reached the 14th station at the top of the mountain—where they could catch glimpses of Atlanta’s skyline and the North Georgia hills in the background—families held hands and reflected together on the death of Jesus, with some shedding tears as Constanza asked people to keep immigrants, the poor, the sick, and the persecuted in their prayers. 

Gerardo Armas, a parishioner at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, has been organizing the event for the past decade—because of his love for Jesus Christ, he told 285 South. Gerardo said he worried that people would not show up because of the most recent wave of immigration enforcement, which has affected Hispanic communities in Georgia.(The Trump administration’s aggressive program of deportations has sown fear throughout Hispanic communities in the state.) “We thought not many people would come, but thank God, they did,” he said. 

“And seeing people leave with a new experience at the end—one experiences the Way of the Cross,” Gerardo said. “It’s not the same as seeing it or reading about it as coming to experience it.”