St. Patrick youth group prays the Stations in silhouette

Intermountain Catholic

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In the Sixth Station of the Cross, Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. By working on this service project, the youth group learned the Stations of the Cross, and better understood how much Christ suffered.

SALT LAKE CITY — The St. Patrick Parish youth group brought the Stations of the Cross to life by presenting them in silhouette while the parish community prayed March 31. The atmosphere was solemn with music from Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of Christ" playing in the background.

"This began as a Lenten service project," said Mele Vaisima. "We wanted to portray each moment of what actually happened to Christ during his crucifixion so our audience could capture his experience on the way to Golgotha or the place called the Skull." Mele, who is a youth council member and Judge Memorial Catholic High School student body president, narrated the Stations of the Cross.

"The cross was heavy and hard to carry," said Maloi Vaisima, a sophomore at Judge Memorial, who portrayed Christ. "I felt like I was going through what Christ must have felt. This experience helped me learn more about the stations."

Manuel Stelmach, a senior at Copper Hills High School, said he learned a lot more about the Passion of Christ and the meaning behind each of stations. Stelmach was in charge of getting all the props including the robes, spartan hats, the heavy wooden cross, and the Christmas lights for Jesus’ crown of thorns.

"This service project was a way to give something back to the parish community for the support they give us," said Stelmach.

"It was good to reach out to the people in our community," said Paul Valles, a sophomore at West High School. Valles was in charge of lighting. "I really enjoyed working as a team with other members of the youth group. This project allowed us to feel closer to God, as do our other projects of reading the Bible and praying together."

"This was really fun to do, and not that hard," said Mele. "We separated our roles and put various people in charge of costumes, choreography, lighting, and props, and the whole youth group contributed to the project. This was a good experience. We hope to make this a tradition for our parish.

"When we began this project, we were only going to perform it for the St. Patrick Parish Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes. But we received such positive feedback from the CCD teachers and students that they suggested we perform it for the whole parish community," said Mele. "The teachers really enjoyed the experience and said it made the stations feel very real to life with the setting and the music."

Anthony Martinez, St. Patrick Parish youth director, said received this idea from Mary Ann Barnett, director of religious education at St. Henry Parish, Brigham City.

"This started as a service project for the religious education students and suddenly took on a life of its own," said Martinez. "When we performed it for the religious education students, we almost forgot we were performing it for more than 100 students because they were so quiet and attentive. To be able to keep the attention of the young children for so long is meaningful for the youth group who are freshmen to seniors in high school.

"Because we focused on this project during the Lenten season, it made it more meaningful and important for the youth group," said Martinez. "This project helped them realize what Lent is about and how much Christ suffered. The youth group feels good because the service project was so successful and so well received."