Churches lead Good Friday "walk of witness" through Barry

Last year's Walk of Witness led by the Archbishop of Wales

Around 200 people are expected to join a "walk of witness" through the Welsh town of Barry on Good Friday.

The walk is being organised 10 of the town's churches to mark Christ's journey to the cross.

Town Mayor Les Sword and Vale Mayor Eric Hacker are among the civic leaders expected to take part.

The crowd will follow a 10ft wooden cross and stop at five points to pray and hear readings from the Bible about Christ's crucifixion.

The walk will begin at Parade Gardens at 12 noon and end with a dramatic last reading at King's Square at about 1.15pm.

Prayers will be said by church leaders from various denominations.

Organiser, Fr Robert Parrish, Rector of Merthyr Dyfan parish, said: "It's got drama, passion and deep meaning but you won't see much about the real story of Easter in the media these days – it's just seen as another bank holiday.

"That's why we're coming together to take the Christian message out on the streets to people in a very visible way.

"We want to share the tremendous story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The walk is based on the stations of the cross devotion, familiar to ancient and modern pilgrims to the Holy Land.

"Jesus encounters various characters on the way of the cross and on the walk we're invited to have our own encounter with Christ."