Jerusalem somber on Good Friday

JERUSALEM -- Hundreds of Christians followed Jesus' footsteps on Good Friday, singing hymns and stopping to pray along the winding cobblestone Via Dolorosa, where tradition says Christ hoisted a cross on his back on the way to his crucifixion.

As the comparatively small number of pilgrims observed the annual ritual, Israeli police stormed into a nearby religious site, throwing stun grenades at Palestinian rock-throwers. Elsewhere in the troubled city, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed herself and two others at a supermarket in a Jewish neighborhood.

A year and a half of bloodshed has kept tourists away, even religious pilgrims, who are often among the more determined travelers. Most of the Christians retracing Christ's path Friday were local Palestinians, foreign workers from the Philippines and Eastern Europe and staff of international agencies.

Carrying two large wooden crosses, the Christians made their way along the ancient road. A few umbrellas poked from the crowd as it began to rain. The smell of rosemary incense wafted, and the sound of Latin hymns mixed with Arabic music from shops and the occasional bark of a vendor selling bagels or pita bread. Some clutched small olive wood crosses and rosaries in their hands.

A monk in brown robes snapped pictures, holding a digital camera above the crowd. Heavily armed Israeli police escorted the crowd and blocked off some of the city's alleyways.

Shawn Purcell, 46, from Dublin, Ireland, made his way with his wife and daughter. "The fact that we're surrounded by security is a very sad reflection of the situation," said Purcell, who works for a U.N. Palestinian refugee agency. "It's essential for people of all faiths to pray more and more at this time."

From Pilate's spot

The procession began in the northeastern corner of the walled Old City, at a church built alongside the place where the Roman military headquarters once stood. Tradition says that this was where the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, tried and sentenced Jesus before sending him off to crucifixion and forcing him to carry his own cross.

Some Bible scholars say it is more likely the trial and sentencing took place at Herod's Palace at the opposite end of the Old City, and that the Way of Sorrows began there.

Both routes end up at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built around a small rocky hill where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried.

Inside the dark church, worshippers knelt, prayed and placed roses over the marble slab where it's believed Jesus was laid after his death two thousand years ago.