Stations: Emotional devotional reenactment

Thousands of people also lined the streets of Sydney to watch the devotional reenactment as the stations moved through the city, just a day after an estimated 500,000 official welcomed the pontiff to World Youth Day in Sydney.

The production started at 3pm, and ended after sundown on Sydney harbour foreshore at Barangaroo, the site of the Opening Mass just three days earlier. 

Local actor, Anthony Gordon, 34, who played the part of the Apostle, Bartholemew, admitted he struggled to contain his emotion when Pope Benedict XVI came out with Cardinal George Pell of Sydney and Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko. 

The Pope led the crowd in the Our Father and Hail Mary on the steps of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney's central business district. 

"When he came out, you could feel the warmth and excitement from the crowd. You had this compulsion to smile and to dissipate in the rapturous feelings," the actor said. 

"You try not to overact because the cameras pick up everything," he said referring to the local television coverage of the event.

After the First Station, the Pope descended into St Mary's Cathedral Crypt to watch the rest of the Stations on television. Each station was accompanied by a reflection, an Our Father and a Hail Mary. 

The rest of the performance was played out around Sydney's key landmarks, including the state Art Gallery, the Opera House forecourt, the Domain (a short walk from St Mary's Cathedral), Darling Harbour and finished at Barangaroo. 

At each station, two announcers declared the title of the station, standing next to the WYD Cross, which was carried in procession by Sydney youth - Australian Aborigines, East Timorese pilgrims, among others. 

An indigenous actor played Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus, played by Alfio Stuto, carry the cross, while wailing women, which included other indigenous actors, played their part at the end of the station. 

The entire performance was directed by Fr Franco Cavarra who has directed operas internationally and around Australia, including at the Sydney Opera House. He is also a founding member of the long standing Melbourne International Arts Festival. 

St Mary's Cathedral choir provided the background music for the first station, singing Mozart, Ave Verum Corpus, while the World Youth Day 2008 Ukrainian choir sang during the sixth station - Jesus Carries His Cross at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt. 

Image courtesy of WYD 2008 ACN 118060987 as Trustee for the World Youth Day 2008 Trust ABN 74 422 698 032