KARACHI: The solemn occasion of Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, was observed in all the churches of the city where Christians prayed, reflected and sang hymns before the holy communion.

The St. Anthony’s Church on McNeil Road started filling up almost an hour ahead of the first service at noon. Devotees arrived from all over the city, including Neelum Colony, Shireen Jinnah Colony, Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, Hijrat Colony and even the interior of Sindh for the occasion.

Parish Priest Father Arthur Charles told Dawn that it is the love of Jesus that draws people to the churches on Good Friday. “Due to the crowds of people coming here, we are now finding this place rather small. We need to find ways to accommodate everyone here,” he said, pointing to the chairs placed all around the church grounds.

“But this also means that the faith is growing. Faith gives us hope. If there is faith, there is hope for a positive transformation, a change. We pray for our country, that it may prosper and all the problems that it may be facing be resolved soon,” he said.

The liturgical colour of the day was red, in honour of the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for the salvation of the people. Father Sullivan Joshua, another young assistant parish priest, who was leading the services, wore red ceremonial robes over white. He explained to this reporter that Good Friday service was in three parts. “The first part is the Liturgy of the Word where the people listen to scripture readings, the sermon and pray. The second part, the veneration, has them showing their respect to the cross. And the third and concluding part is the holy communion,” he said.

The first service was in Urdu. Assistant Parish Priest Father Asher Iftikhar said that it is easier to hold Urdu and English services though a while ago they also used to organise services in Punjabi. That is not happening for the time being though they have Punjabi geets [hymns and carols] that are sung beautifully by the church choir.

Maria Soares, a devotee and also senior member of the church choir, said that one needs to practice a lot if they want to sing in the church choir. “The choir practices a lot during the Lent season,” she said. “And this they do while fasting,” she added. Most members of the choir that sang solemn hymns on Good Friday were also observing a fast. “Today is the biggest fast,” Maria reminded.

Meanwhile, Yasmin John, a Eucharistic Minister, was getting ready to distribute the communion bread and grape juice among the faithful at the end of the service. Usually the Good Friday fast lasts from sundown on Thursday to sundown on Friday but some Christians also extend it until the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.

Those who broke their fast on Friday also had the chance to look forward to enjoying hot cross buns. Those who extended their fasts will have them later. Hot cross buns are a traditional sweet treat distributed on Good Friday. They are buns with cinnamon and raisins with a marzipan cross on top, sprinkled with sugar. There are some special bakeries in Karachi that bake hot cross buns in huge quantities to fulfill demands at this time. These include JC Misquita Bakery, United Bakery and Crispo Bakery, all of which have their main outlets in Saddar. Surprisingly, all these bakeries are owned by Muslims, who are also quite fond of the delicacy. Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2025