“Pilgrims will be allocated to one of six sites excluding The Art Gallery of NSW which is not a public venue. There will also be spaces for the general public, primarily at Darling Harbour,” a press release from WYD08 last week said.

“Crowds will not be able to follow the actors, and will remain at a live site to watch the proceedings via large screens, awaiting the travelling production to come to their venue,” the press release continued. 

The event route will start at St. Mary’s Cathedral and end at Barangaroo.

“The world will be mesmerised by this beautiful depiction of Christ’s Passion, played out across some of Sydney’s famous landmarks,” said WYD08 spokesman Fr Mark Podesta.

However preparing for the Stations of the Cross during rehearsals, which have been underway since early this year, has also been a moving process for the members of the cast of over 100 actors.

Clare McAuley, 22, is one of 18 actresses whose role is to be a Woman of Jerusalem. She will be in stations 9 – 13, which includes the station 12 - Christ’s Crucifixion.

Rehearsing this particular scene, she says, has had a powerful impact upon her.

“Being involved in the Way of the Cross has helped me to pray. It has brought the crucifixion of Jesus very much alive in my imagination. It’s a pretty awful thing to catch the eye of Christ dying on the cross,” Miss McAuley says.

“The performance will probably encourage the pilgrims to reflect and pray. The end result is going to be very beautiful, spectacular and moving,” she continues.

The Stations of the Cross re-enactment is broken up into various scenes and staged settings but pilgrims will not be permitted to be present at all venues such as the NSW Art Gallery, which will stage Station Three: Jesus before the Sanhedrin.

The Stations of the Cross will be directed by Fr Franco Cavarra while renowned designer Michael-Scott Mitchell – who created the Cauldron at the 2000 Olympics – has designed the sets.

Composers Anne Boyd and Fr Geoffrey Abdullah were commissioned to compose the music to accompany the re-enactments of Stations eight and three respectively, while the repertoire is also set to include work by Mozart and Indigenous artists.

The 13 Stations will be acted out from 3pm-6pm at the following six major CBD locations, on Friday 18 July.

The event route is as follows:

Station 1:     The Last Supper with a special appearance by the Holy Father
    St Mary’s Cathedral
    Performance by St Mary’s Cathedral choir

Station 2:    The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ prepares for his death
        The Domain

Station 3:    Jesus before the Sanhedrin
        The Art Gallery of NSW

Station 4:    Jesus before Pontius Pilate
        Sydney Opera House

Station 5:    Jesus is whipped and crowned
        Sydney Opera House Forecourt

Station 6:    Jesus carries his Cross
        Sydney Opera House Forecourt

Station 7:     Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene onboard a floating pontoon
        Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour

Station 8:    Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem
        Barangaroo, Centre Stage

Station 9:    Jesus is stripped and nailed
        Barangaroo North Stage

Station 10:    Jesus and the Good Thief
        Barangaroo North Stage

Station 11:    Jesus speaks to Mary and John
        Barangaroo North Stage

Station 12:    Jesus dies on the cross
        Barangaroo North Stage

Station 13:    The body of Jesus is brought down from the Cross
        Barangaroo North Stage

Final Registrations Rolling In

In other news, registrations for World Youth Day Sydney 2008 (WYD08) have been rolling in, with just under 200,000 in the system, organisers said this week.

“Our estimations for the event have always been based on 125,000 international and 100,000 domestic registered pilgrims,” said WYD08 Chief Operating Officer Danny Casey.

Earlier this week, Mr Casey verified that by midday, Monday 23 June there were 132,671 individuals [in the system] who had completed their registrations by providing WYD08 organisers with all of their individual details.

“In addition, a further 64,181 have made a commitment and are partly through their registration,” Mr Casey continued.

“This indicates that almost 197,000 people have registered to date.”

Mr Casey said that with three weeks to go, the WYD08 estimate of around 225,000 registrations are expected to be met or  even exceeded.

To sign up for eDAILY – all your latest pilgrim news in English and Spanish - click here.