Mechernich/Adenau – On Good Friday, 53 pilgrims set off by bus from Mechernich to Adenau at the Nürburgring to pray the Stations of the Cross together. Other worshippers from the region joined them, bringing the total number of participants in the day of reflection to just under 80. At the same time, the Stations of the Cross were also spiritually observed in the chapel of the Communio in Christo community in Mechernich.

This is reported by the Superior General of the community, Father Jaison Thazhathil, in a press release, which he combines with warm greetings for the Easter season. It was already clear from the introduction by Sister Theresia and Deacon Manni Lang that this is not merely an external journey that people undertake.
“We have set out today,” they said, some physically on their way to Adenau, others in the silence of the house chapel, to follow an inner path of faith. “But the true Way of the Cross begins in the heart,” said Manni Lang.

In Adenau, the participants prayed and meditated along 14 neo-Gothic stations, more than 160 years old, and a burial grotto above the former Adenau Hospital, all set into the basalt of the Vulkaneifel. The generation of that time created this path with great devotion – so that today’s pilgrims might also walk and pray there, even though the builders themselves have long since passed away, said the deacon.

„Taking away the fear“

This year, the spiritual foundation was provided by a Good Friday reflection from 1993 by Mother Marie Therese, the founder of Communio. Under the theme ‘The Cross as a Door between Darkness and Light’, the cross was interpreted not only as a sign of suffering, but also as a symbol of hope and transition. Sister Lidwina had already introduced these thoughts at the start of Holy Week in Communio with an excerpt: “The cross seeks to take away fear and become a source of security for the heart.”

In the meditations, the Way of the Cross was understood as an invitation to walk one’s own life with Jesus – with all one’s worries, questions and guilt, but also with hope, comfort and gratitude. “This Way of the Cross is no walk in the park,” it was said, but a path through suffering and darkness, and at the same time a path of walking alongside Christ, who in turn accompanies people on their journey through life.

The Way of the Cross has a long tradition within Communio in Christo. Since 2002, the faithful have made pilgrimages to Calvary in Alendorf near Blankenheim over the course of two decades, a total of 21 times – interrupted only by the coronavirus pandemic. For the past three years, the Way of the Cross has now been held in Adenau, partly to provide a less steep route for older participants.

Dedication to serving others

The main celebrant of the subsequent Good Friday liturgy was the Superior General, Father Jaison Thazhathil, assisted by Father Dr Shaji Thomas Manikula from India, Father Patrick Mwanguhya from Uganda, and Martijn and Wouter Dijkstra. Hilde Bouschery, Georg Schürmann and Martijn Dijkstra served as lectors during the service.

In terms of content, the Way of the Cross was closely linked to the Eucharist. A meditation emphasised that Jesus’ words “This is my body. This is my blood” are not merely a remembrance, but a real presence. From this also arises the mission to pass on this self-giving in one’s own life – in service to one’s neighbour.

Thus, the Way of the Cross 2026 became a shared journey of faith across different locations – in Adenau and in Mechernich. Or, as it was summarised in the introduction: “One path – many places – one faith.“

pp/Agentur ProfiPress