Zenit, a wire service with ties to the Vatican, talks with Robert Légère, who portrayed Jesus during the Way of the Cross at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.

Robert Légère, 25, was introduced to World Youth Day by his girlfriend, who first attended WYD in her home country of the Philippines, then in Rome two years ago. He has no theatrical training — he has a degree in finance and works for Multiple Retirement Services in Toronto—but has become known for his depiction of Jesus during the Way of the Cross last summer at World Youth Day.

“I never dreamed I would be playing Jesus in an event like this,” he said.

Zenit: The Way of the Cross in Toronto was, in many ways, a coming of Christ among the people on the principal streets of a modern city. What did the Way of the Cross mean for the people of Toronto, and what did it mean for you?

Robert Légère: It’s hard to say what the Way of the Cross really meant for the people of Toronto in general, but I do know that it was a very powerful experience for the entire city. Hundreds of thousands of people really entered into the pain and suffering of Jesus’ final hours on earth. Some people have stopped me and told me that they where crying as they watched me, as Jesus, dying on the cross.

The entire city came to a standstill that Friday evening, July 26, 2002. I was very moved at seeing thousands of people on their knees as we moved up University Avenue, in the middle of downtown Toronto. People were looking at me and praying. It was a very strange sensation.

I witnessed so much faith and piety that evening. I never thought that something like this would happen in Toronto or, for that matter, in Canada. Having the Way of the Cross re-enacted right in the heart of downtown Toronto was a profound symbol and public statement.

[WYD 2002 coordinator] Father Thomas Rosica and Father Robert Gendreau, the coordinator of the Stations of the Cross, had told us very often that, unless a country and a people like Canada reclaim their deeply Christian origins, we would remain unfaithful to our identity. At first, I didn’t know what they meant. Now, I know exactly what they meant.

For me, the Stations of the Cross was a unique experience. I know I was there, and have the tape to prove it. But it was just my body that was there. My mind wasn’t really there. It was as if something took my body and made me go through the movements and actions. Someone else was leading me that night.

I really don’t remember what happened after the second station. Someone else led me.

Z: Have people recognized you as the one who played Jesus in the Way of the Cross? What do they say to you? What do you say to them?

RL: There have been people that have come up to me on the street, and asked me if I was the one who played Jesus on July 26. I’ve had people come up to me waiting for the bus, on the subway and just on the street.

Every time someone actually recognizes me, I really just give them a smile and say that it was me, but usually am too shy to carry on a conversation. They have just congratulated me and say that I did a very good job. Many of the people are not even Christians.

It’s always an amazing experience when this happens, and it makes me feel great about all the work that I, and the whole cast, put in. Over the past five months, Father Rosica has gathered us together each month for a reflection, and reminded us that we did something beautiful for God and for humanity that night. He is right.

Z: Many people around the world watched the Way of the Cross and, for a moment, caught a glimpse of Christ in you. Do you think that people are afraid of Jesus? What did you feel as you walked up University Avenue that night?

RL:Maybe it’s not really Christ that people are afraid of, but the reality of his sacrifice and suffering for us. How could anyone be afraid of Jesus Christ and his extraordinary goodness? People are asking themselves if they are able or willing to pick up the cross and do the same; this thought might be what they are afraid of.

We do our best to run from the reality of the cross. And yet, it is only when we embrace it and befriend it, that we can accept suffering and give it meaning.

Z: How has your life changed after the Way of the Cross in Toronto?

RL: Playing the role of Jesus in the Stations of the Cross has not changed my life in huge ways. One thing, however, has really marked me. The nearly 60 members of the cast have become a community of friends — rather extraordinary. We didn’t know each other in May, 2002; now, we are really a community of friends, gathered around Jesus and his cross.

This week, we had a very moving retreat evening with Father Rosica. He spoke to us about the crib in Bethlehem and the cross in Jerusalem, and how they are part of the same mystery. He also told us that Christmas is Easter in winter.

He helped us to think back to that night in July, when we re-enacted Jesus’ final journey. When we take the story of Christmas in this way, we realize that Christmas is really a great invitation to us, to begin walking the way of the cross. I think the pope invited us to do this at the final Mass at Downsview, when he used the expression: “Come and walk on the Royal Road of the Cross.” That road begins at Christmas.

Z: Is it possible for true Christians to follow Christ in a city like Toronto?

RL: I think that seeing the way the city was changed when the pope came to Toronto can answer that question. There was singing and praying out loud, and nobody made a big fuss over it. In fact, it took the young people of the world to breathe life into this city.

In fact, it took the young people of the world to breathe life into this city.

Plenty of people seemed to embrace the pilgrims, even if it meant not having a place to sit on the bus or subway. I know that Toronto is very big, and does have many different religions and beliefs, but still we are able to embrace Christ in the beautiful faces of these young people.

I don’t think it should matter if you are in a big city like Toronto, or a small town somewhere else. To be a true Christian means to be able to follow Christ, no matter where you are, and to find Him in the faces of those around us.

Z: What is the most evident aftereffect of the pope’s visit to Canada this past summer?

RL: It might not be something drastically evident in the country as a whole. But perhaps there’s a ripple effect that has happened throughout the country, and especially in Toronto.

There is a resurgence of youthfulness and enthusiasm among the youth in their involvement in their communities. The light of faith is burning brighter in our churches. I think there could be no better season than Christmas, to take stock and realize the great gift we all received this past July with World Youth Day 2002.

It would be a pity if the church did not realize this. We were richly blessed in July with the gift of new life. I know that I will thank Jesus on Christmas night, for what he did for all of us last July. But I will look at him in a new way this year. I got to know him and about him in ways I never dreamed of, as I walked up University Avenue and carried his cross. My cross

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