Judge Armand Della Porta (left) has led Our Mother of Consolation’s Walking Stations of the Cross March for the last 30 years.

On Good Friday – April 10 – Judge Armand Della Porta, 87, will put on comfortable walking shoes and prepare for what he calls, “the most significant experience in prayer you could ever have.”

He is referring to “The Way of the Cross Walking Stations,” a shared devotional prayer procession which Della Porta has led for 30 years. Believers walk through Chestnut Hill as part of their Good Friday tradition, recalling the suffering that Jesus experienced leading up to his death on the cross.

Della Porta, a senior judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, first participated in the Way of the Cross Walking Stations in the mid-1970s when it was led by Father Ralph Monteiro, a priest assigned to Our Mother of Consolation (OMC) Catholic Parish.

When Father Monteiro left OMC for another position in 1979, Della Porta told him, “I will carry it on.” He has done just that. This Good Friday marks the 30th consecutive year he has led this spiritual event.

All preparations for the devotional event are organized by Della Porta with help from the staff at OMC parish. He secures the permit from the city, coordinates the police escort, determines the route, prepares the prayers, solicits volunteers to read the prayers and coordinates the walkers on the day of the journey. OMC staff members help advertise and prepare copies of maps and hymns for the participants.

The Stations of the Cross is one of the most significant events of Holy Week. For Christians, the Stations of the Cross are prayers recalling the final suffering Jesus endured on the way to his crucifixion. Each station recalls a significant event along Jesus’ journey as he carried the cross through the streets of Jerusalem to the hill at Calvary where he was crucified.

These fourteen events, which include Jesus falling, meeting his mother, being stripped of his garments and being nailed to the cross, are each commemorated.

The Way of the Cross Walking Stations is an opportunity for Christians to bear public witness to their faith and identify with their suffering and pain and that of others.

“We bring our crosses in our life to the Way of the Cross,” said the Rev. Bob Bazzoli, OSFS, pastor of OMC.

As the procession weaves throughout Chestnut Hill, the walkers stop fourteen times for prayers, mediations and hymns.

“This is not just a walk,” Della Porta explains. “In a very real way it reminds our people of Christ’s suffering and that we each benefit from his suffering. I selected the stops we make intentionally — they each have a meaning parallel to Christ’s journey. The first station is prayed at the Chestnut Hill Hospital where the participants join in the suffering of the patients.” 

Della Porta continued:

“Stops at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and Christ Lutheran Churches remind us that as Christians, we are all followers and therefore are all part of Christ’s suffering.” 

At the Crefeld School, a prayer is said for the spiritual health of the children, and at Springfield Residence the walkers share in the suffering of residents who may be experiencing physical pain or mental distress.

The stop at Keystone House on Stenton Avenue is particularly moving for Della Porta. The residential hospice’s patients, staff and family members greet the procession on the porch and front lawn. Gail Inderwies, executive director, leads the group in prayer.

“They are so grateful that we are there with them in prayer,” said Armand’s wife, Marie Della Porta. “It is really lovely.”

The group varies in size every year and welcomes people of all ages. Participants come from as far away as northern New Jersey and have included a newborn infant pushed in a carriage beside an elderly gentleman. Walkers can join or leave the walk at any point along the way.

“We try to make the walk as inclusive as Christ made himself,” Della Porta said. “He included everyone in his plan to redeem all sinners. We want everyone to know that they are welcome to join us.”

Although organized by Della Porta and OMC Catholic Church, persons of all faiths are invited to join in the Walking Stations.  Walkers meet at OMC Church on Good Friday at 11:30 a.m. Prayers are said in the church and then the procession begins, heading up East Chestnut Hill Avenue. A tall wooden cross is carried by four or five of the participants, and at each station another group of walkers take up the cross.

Throughout the five-mile walk, participants will walk in silence, pray the Rosary (a devotional prayer to Mary), sing hymns and invite passersby to join the group. In his three decades leading the walk, Della Porta has met some very memorable people.

He tells of a woman who, after walking with them for years, had become confined to a wheelchair. She insisted on joining the group and had friends push her wheelchair so she could participate.

Another participant, Thomasina Reynolds, once rode in the police escort car for the duration of the walk. Like so many others, she wanted to be part of the special experience, so she got out at each stop to participate in the prayers, meditations and hymns and then returned to the police car.

As the procession winds through local neighborhoods, residents often come out on their lawns to watch the walkers. Della Porta and his wife tell of their dear neighbor Sylvia, who has since passed away. Each year as the procession walked by her home, she came out and put a wreath of fresh lilies around the cross.

“She could not walk the whole journey, she could barely come to the street, but she would always wait for us so she could put the lilies on our cross” Marie Della Porta said, “This is what makes this such a beautiful experience.”

Although he hopes to find someone else to lead the Walking Stations next year, Della Porta still plans to participate.

“This is such a powerful and moving experience — I know I will do this the rest of my life,” he said. “I would have to be totally incapacitated to miss this.”

For more information on The Way of the Cross Walking Stations, contact the OMC Parish Office at 215-247-0430.