The Sanctuary of Santa Quitéria will inaugurate on September 14, at 9:30 PM, a Via Crucis and a Via Lucis, in a special moment of prayer, contemplation, and thanksgiving. The chosen date coincides with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a particularly significant day for this work.
The route is composed of scenes authored by Fr. João Soares, of the Congregation of the Mission, who was rector of the Sanctuary of Santa Quitéria in recent years. The objective is to lead the faithful to an experience of prayer through the main moments of Christ's path, from the Cross to the joy of the Resurrection.
According to Fr. João Soares, the Via Crucis and Via Lucis were born as a form of prayer and thanksgiving. The priest explains that each image was made slowly, between the work of the hands and the interior experience, in a process that accompanied the years lived in the Sanctuary. The priest himself acknowledges that the work is very personal, as it was born from what he was living and praying.
Fr. João Soares considers the years lived in Santa Quitéria as a grace and a blessing, emphasizing that he never thought of these works as a way of leaving his mark on the Sanctuary. On the contrary, he states that they represent an expression of recognition for the mark that the Sanctuary itself, the people, and the time lived there left on him. The Sanctuary invites the entire community to participate in this celebration.
