Decorated in a laplap, kangaroo skin and paint, Bob Blair, his head lowered, carried the cross at a slow steady speed. The eerie silence of the crowd was only punctuated by the sound of the cross dragging on the ground, all that could be heard.

For local man Bob Blair carrying the cross during World Youth Day in Sydney last Friday and performing with former Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan at the opening Mass far outweighed the disappointment of not being chosen to play didgeridoo for the Pope.

Mr Blair was selected along with performers from across Australia to be part of the Stations of the Cross production and also perform during the opening mass, where he had anticipated he would be playing his forte, the didgeridoo.

As Pope Benedict XVI watched the enactment on television at St Mary’s Cathedral crypt, Bob Blair had the honour of being one of two indigenous men to re-enact the part of Simon of Cyrene at station eight of the Stations of the Cross in Barangaroo - a role he had only found out we was playing upon arrival in Sydney.

“We only had one full technical and dress rehearsal on the Sunday (before the commencement of the WYD festival) from 10pm until 7am, so people wouldn’t see what was going on,” Mr Blair said.

The three-hour Stations of the Cross re-enactment on Friday was one of the major events of the six-day festival. Approximately 100 performers took part in the 13-stage recreation of Jesus’ final days, from the last supper through to his crucifixion using six infamous Sydney landmarks as the stage. Station eight depicts Jesus’ compassion as he spoke and gave courage to the women of Jerusalem. As Simon, Mr Blair’s role entailed carrying the cross, in front of Jesus, approximately 500m, winding through the crowd to the Hungry Mile central stage. He then switched places with the other actor playing Simon at the back of the stage.

“When I was carrying the cross all I was thinking was don’t smile, as the camera was right there in my face,” he said. “But there was also a feeling of sadness. I was glad I didn’t have to continue carrying it (the cross); it killed my lower back.”

The history of the Stations of the Cross dates to the early days of the Church when pilgrims visited the holy sites in Jerusalem to walk the path Christ followed to Calvary. It is regularly performed at Catholic churches especially on the Friday’s of Lent.

Mr Blair revealed that he was not overwhelmed by the crowd of billions watching live in Sydney and across the world on television as he was expecting it to be as big as it was - 223,000 registered pilgrims from over 170 nations, 8,000 volunteers and a crowd of 500,000 people at the final mass, according to organisers.

Earlier, at the opening mass last Tuesday, Mr Blair was one around 30 indigenous and Torres Strait Islander traditional dancers who performed as Casey Donovan sang. Mr Blair also performed two shows in front of about 3000 students at the Australian Catholic University on Wednesday July 16.

“It was a good experience meeting people from all around the world,” he said. “It was very uplifting. It took me an hour and a half to walk back (at the conclusion of the Stations of the Cross) as I was stopping for pilgrims to get photos with me.”