Poster for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"

Today is Good Friday, the most serious day in the liturgical year, in memory of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

No Masses are held and churches look different, explains Archbishop Wojciech Ziemba: "The Tabernacle is open, the Altar is deprived of its usual ornaments. It's like a fast, also from the Eucharist. But let us also remember about the usual fasting - meatless and limited in quantity - as a sign of our suffering together with Christ."

The focus of Good Friday is on the Crucifix. The evening liturgy is built around the Passion of Christ and the adoration of the Cross: "It's a beautiful ceremony, so close to us. Crucifixes are in the center of our lives. We carry them with us, we have them in our homes, and around our landscape. The Cross is with us everywhere," said Archbishop Wojciech Ziemba.

In addition to local celebrations all over the country, in the evening, a central Way of the Cross will be held in downtown Warsaw. Thousands of people are expected to participate. A huge crucifix, weighing over one hundred kilograms will be carried from station to station by representatives of different professions. This year's special motto is "Through the Cross to Heaven," the patron is St. Paul, the faithful will also remember Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, tortured to death by communist functionaries 25 years ago this year.

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