During the Stations of the Cross prayer service, New Ulm Diocese Bishop Zielinski invited everyone in attendance to reach out to a person who is struggling and let them know they are being prayed for. Photo by Clay Schuldt

NEW ULM – Area faithful gathered at Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on Good Friday as Bishop Chad Zielinski led them through the 14 stations of the cross.

Praying the 14 stations of the cross with the Bishop is a New Ulm Diocese tradition. Typically, the prayer and meditation service is held at the Way of Way of the Cross Shrine near the Diocese pastoral center, but due to weather conditions, it was moved indoors to the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

Bishop Zielinski moved through the Cathedral sanctuary, offing a specific prayer at each of the 14 location.

Zielinski invited everyone in attendance to reach out to a person who is struggling and let them know they are being prayed for. Zielinski compared it to the fifth station of the cross, in which Simon of Cyrene took up the cross for Christ.

Zielinski said there are people carrying the weight of a cross and through the application of prayer it may help them to know they do carry the weight of it alone.

Though the Way of the Cross ceremony was held at Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the Way of the Cross Shrine by the pastoral center is open to the public. The shrine includes a grotto and a small chapel. In 2020, the Way of the Cross Shrine was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior. On Wednesday, a new sign was installed outside the Way of the Cross.