Stations of the Cross: A Most Meaningful Walk Through Calvary East L.A.

April 19, 2023

by David Brackney, Community Outreach

An East Los Angeles icon since 1896, Calvary Cemetery is not just one of the oldest and most famed cemeteries within our Archdiocese. It’s also home to one the most soul-stirring walks you may ever take: The Stations of the Cross, an annual tradition that takes place on its sacred grounds each Sunday afternoon during Lent.

It is a tribute to Jesus’ final hours leading up to his crucifixion, as participants follow a series of winding roads through the cemetery, stopping at 14 markers along the way. Each stop, or “station,” recalls a specific event from that momentous day, from Jesus’ condemnation to death, to bearing his cross to his place of execution, on through to his moment of death, and at last being laid to rest in his tomb.

The first walk of this year’s took place on the cold, windswept afternoon of Feb. 26, as dark clouds gathered against the San Gabriel Mountains – harbingers of a storm that would dump another load of rain and snow across the Los Angeles Basin. But things stayed dry as Deacon Sergio Perez led a small group of the faithful (this writer included) around the cemetery. At each station we took turns in reading from a booklet that recalled each event, followed by a prayer and a moment of reflection. All told, the walk took just under an hour – time well spent as we reflected on the sacrifice Christ made atop Mt. Calvary, some 2,000 years ago.

Lent has come and gone for 2023, climaxed by Easter Sunday, April 9, as Christians locally and worldwide celebrated Jesus’ resurrection. But you’re warmly invited to join the Stations walk next year, beginning with the first Sunday of Lent, Feb. 18, 2024, and continuing each Sunday through March 17, 2024. Stations walks commence at 2 p.m., departing from the main parking lot at Calvary.

Photo: Deacon Sergio Perez leads the faithful at the beginning of 2023’s first Stations of the Cross procession, Sunday, Feb. 26.