Catholic youths walk the Via Crucis along U.S. 1

By Angelique Ruhi-Lopez - Florida Catholic

Photography: COURTESY

MIAMI | Jesus isn’t the only one who makes a comeback.

After a 20-year hiatus, the Malta Youth Corps, at the request of Archbishop Thomas Wenski, has resurrected a six-mile Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) along U.S. 1 in Miami.

The Via Crucis made a return last year with just a couple of Catholic schools participating. This year’s Via Crucis, on April 1, 2023, included the participation of more than 250 youths, young adults and families from approximately 12 schools and parishes in the Archdiocese of Miami.

Participating schools and parishes included Epiphany, St. Timothy, St. Augustine, Church of the Little Flower (Coral Gables), St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Brendan High, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, Belen Jesuit, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Christopher Columbus High School and Catholic campus ministry students from the University of Miami and St. Thomas University.

“Last year I was approached about re-starting this Via Crucis and I said yes, not really knowing what I was getting myself into,” said Jaclyn Don Caceres, English teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and Malta Youth Corps coordinator. “It was a lot of work trying to promote it to the different schools and parishes, talking to the mayors of Coral Gables and the City of Miami. Mapping out a feasible and safe route was something else I had to think of. It’s a labor of love. It’s high stress to put it together but totally worth it.”

Two decades ago, then-Auxiliary Bishop Wenski encouraged the creation of this stations of the cross along U.S.1, beginning at St. Augustine Parish and ending at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

The purpose of the walking pilgrimage remains the same: to engage young people in experiencing Jesus’ Way of the Cross while also evangelizing along one of Miami’s busiest streets.

“It’s been giving me time to pray and talk to God,” said St. Thomas University student Kervens Dabresil during the walk. “Throughout the week, it’s hard, but now, I’m getting some one-on-one time with God.”

His friend, Keyon Phillips, agreed.

“This is pretty cool,” said Phillips, also a student at St. Thomas University. “It’s good exercise and good to learn more about our faith and grow closer to God.”

Student participation and planning was key.

Students from UCatholic, the University of Miami’s campus ministry, wrote and read reflections at each station. Students from Belen manned stations and handed out water. Lourdes Academy’s Advanced Placement art students drew the 14 Stations of the Cross signs and designed scapulars that were blessed and distributed at the conclusion of the journey. Students could earn service hours for their participation and service.

“You get to walk in solidarity with other Catholics,” said Daniel Colon, a senior at St. Brendan High School in Miami, who attended the event with his parents and St. Brendan classmates.

“My target audience is the kids. We live in strange times and they are being told so many things. This is a way to bring them back, if only for a moment. These kids are the future of our society and of our faith. They need to know what they are up against and what they are facing,” said Caceres, a mother of four.

In her role as coordinator of the Malta Youth Corps, a division of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta, Caceres also leads initiatives for young people to make sandwiches for the poor and provides opportunities for the youths to serve at the “Casita de Malta” at St. John Bosco Parish in Little Havana.

“If I get just one of those students to think about what Holy Week is about —that it’s not just about Spring Break — then I’m happy,” said Caceres. “If I got someone walking down the street to ask me about what this walk is, I know that I have done my job. You never know in what capacity or how a life will be touched by something someone sees or does.”