Good Friday in America

First Things, 30 March 2021

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of a much less edifying Good Friday in the history of American Catholic culture.

Good Friday is different in the United States. 

In most Christian-majority countries, Good Friday is a federal holiday—but not in the United States, even though some states observe it. Other Protestant countries—Great Britain, notably—have made Good Friday a national holiday. But the distinctive Protestant culture of the United States does not emphasize Holy Week or Good Friday, as is customary in Catholic cultures. 

The most famous Good Friday in American history was in 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. After the surrender on Palm Sunday at Appomattox, the triumphal “entry” was styled as ending in a martyr’s death, following the biblical chronology. What is remarkable, though, is that Lincoln, along with Washington high society, was at the theatre at all on Good Friday, let alone for a comedic play. That theatres in 1865 would be doing commerce on Good Friday was unimaginable in other Christian countries.

Take another, less dramatic example. The premier golf tournament in the world, the Masters, concludes on the second Sunday of April. It’s fixed, independent of liturgical season. Augusta, Georgia, has a strong Christian culture, but liturgical sensibility is weaker. So golfers are out on Good Friday when the Masters falls during Holy Week. At least the Augusta National pimento cheese sandwiches are meat-free.

That gave rise to an incongruous scene in 2004. Jim Caviezel, the devout Catholic actor, had the title role in The Passion of the Christ, which had opened on Ash Wednesday. His next film was the tale of a golfing legend who played for the love of the game. Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius was opening in late April 2004. It would be impossible not to promote the film at the Masters; Jones both developed the course and started the tournament in the 1930s. 

So there was Caviezel in Augusta during Holy Week 2004, calling around to find a convenient Catholic parish. It created no little stir among the parishioners to find “Jesus” kneeling beside them on Good Friday.

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