THE ST. JOHN PASSION PLAY
Lockland Christian Church
April 5-13
[Lockland]
In February 1917 America was at war. Like other parishes throughout the United States, St. John the Baptist Church in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati had readily given its quota of men to the armed forces during World War I. Eight of them had already been killed in action.
Father Richard Wurth, Franciscan pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, was deeply saddened by the loss of these eight young men, and considered how he and his parishioners could merit a special protection of God for the others serving in active duty. He remembered how the wood-carving peasants of Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps had escaped the Black Death in the 17th century by vowing to produce a Passion Play every ten years in thanksgiving.
With hope in his heart, Father Wurth decided on a similar strategy. He produced Veronica, or the Holy Face, a play centered on the passion and death of Christ. After the third and final performance, he called all of the actors together backstage. Realizing there had been no more battle-related casualties, they joined hands in thanksgiving. They solemnly pledged to present a passion play annually for the continued protection of those serving in the war. The following year, in 1918, The St. John Passion Play was established. Since that time, that promise has not been broken.
- Sat, April 5 at 7pm
- Sun, April 6 at 3pm
- Sat, April 12 at 7pm
- Sun, April 13 at 3pm (Veteran’s Appreciation Day)
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 