Good Friday Procession 
Sacred Hearts - St. Stephen Church 
Please join us on March 29, 2024  at 7pm 


                             Click to enlarge Map of Route ->

Italian Catholics from the Tri-State area return home annually to Brooklyn’s oldest Italian Parish, Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen Church, to solemnly process through the streets of Carroll Gardens marking the Holyday of Good Friday. While the area has seen much change since the parish’s founding by Italian immigrants in 1882, this time honored tradition and devotion continues to be a staple of what Carroll Gardens is all about.

This tradition has persevered thanks to the dedicated family and organizations that consider their customs sacred and time honored. Sacred Hearts along with the Congrega SS Addolorata have carried the difficult task of preserving their Italian heritage through this and many other services and traditions in the face of an ever changing demographic for the past 125 years. 

Good Friday is the day in which Catholics believe Jesus Christ suffered and was Crucified for the sins of Humanity. The Good Friday Procession, which has its roots in the small towns of Italy, recalls the passion of Jesus Christ by way of Symbolic statuary representing Jesus and Mary, traditional Italian hymns, a traditional Italian funeral band, and processing men, women and children who re-enact the last steps of Christ to his tomb, by candlelight .

The statuary symbolizing both the Body of Christ and Mary the Mother of Jesus, under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows, have been used in the parish procession for 60 years and have both been restored in recent years. In a scene only experienced by many in a movie, the two figures are carried on the shoulders of the faithful accompanied by singing and music as they pass through the crowded streets. In conclusion, the bearers that carry the statuary through the streets re-enact the death of Christ by having the coffin of Jesus met at the feet of Mary three times before returning into Church.

The Procession begins at 7 P.M. from the front of Sacred Hearts and St. Stephen Church (Hicks and Summit Streets) and concludes in the Church for a brief prayer service, in Italian, after winding its way through the crowded streets of the neighborhood. New York has often been called a city which finds great strength in its diversity, a beautiful mosaic of cultures and people. It is the hope of all participants that new-comers to Carroll Gardens, view traditions such as the Good Friday Procession, with respect and reverence. All are encouraged to join and participate together in the continuing efforts to preserve the tiles that comprise the beautiful mosaic, which is our community. 


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