By Jonathan Martinez - Florida Catholic

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Mary stands at the feet of the crucified Jesus in this scene from the passion of Christ put on by St. Vincent Parish in Margate.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Jesus carries the cross.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane.

MARGATE � The line of cars stretched over several blocks as thousands of people flocked to St. Vincent Church in Margate to witness south Florida�s first-ever drive-thru depiction of the passion of Christ.

The two-night event, March 27-28, unified the parish that was merged after the closing of Our Lady Aparecida Brazilian Mission and St. Luke Parish last year.

�It was a work of love that brought us all together. It didn�t matter if you were Brazilian, Anglo or Hispanic, we all united to share this message,� said Robert Ciantelli, parishioner and director of the event.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Jesus is scourged by Roman guards.

With over 80 participants acting out the last 12 hours of Jesus� life, the various stages took people along the parish�s u-shaped parking lot for an emotional portrayal of the passion.

�We wanted to recreate for the people a glimpse of what the era looked like (through costumes and stages) and in that setting share the emotion of the passion of our Lord and what he went through for our salvation,� said Ciantelli.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Women weep at the tomb of Jesus.

�It leaves you with a renewed sense of faith, seeing what Jesus went through acted out in front of you,� said Scalabrinian Father Joseph Pranzo, St. Vincent�s pastor. �We decided to put this together to make it more accessible to our older parishioners and to attract more people.�

As visitors drove up to the various stages, they encountered Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane, at his trial before Pontius Pilate and carrying the cross to Calvary. They even saw a depiction of Judas hung from a tree. The last two scenes showed an empty tomb and the resurrection.

�It gave me goose bumps, it was a beautiful reminder of our faith,� said Isabella Tressler, a parishioner who drove thru on the first night. �Sometimes we don�t appreciate what Jesus went through. Life gets so busy and we forget what he did for us.�

Organizers said that, on the first night, 392 cars with approximately 1,000 people made their way through the parish grounds; another 475 cars with between 1,400 and 1,500 people drove through on the second night.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

A carload of women and children stop to look at the scene depicting Jesus' crucifixion.