Pope Leo XIV will lead the Way of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum this evening at 21:15 and will personally carry the cross during all fourteen stations. According to the Italian agency ANSA and OSV News, this is an exceptional step — no pope has carried the cross at all the stations since Paul VI restored this tradition at the ancient amphitheater in 1965. John Paul II and Benedict XVI generally carried the cross only at the opening and closing stations. ANSA ↗
For the seventy-year-old pope, this is the first Way of the Cross since the beginning of his pontificate. In recent years, Pope Francis presided over the ceremony from the Palatine Hill and left the carrying of the cross to various groups of the faithful, families, young people, or refugees. OSV News ↗
The meditations for the individual stations were written by the Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, former Custos of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025, who currently resides at the monastery on Mount Nebo in Jordan. The texts of the meditations will be published on the morning of the ceremony. They will focus on the wounds of the Holy Land and the suffering of the Middle East, afflicted by years of conflict. The meditations also relate to the eight-hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. Vatican News ↗
During Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Lateran Basilica, the pope washed the feet of twelve priests of the Roman diocese, restoring the traditional format of the ceremony. Pope Francis had moved this ceremony to prisons and migrant centers. In his homily, Leo XIV declared that it is blasphemy against God when man wants to win by killing. We are living in a dark hour of history, in a world of rivalry and devastation, the pope said, calling on world leaders to return to negotiation instead of military solutions. ANSA ↗
Rome is preparing for today's ceremony with extensive security measures. From 13:00, several streets around the Colosseum are closed, including Via dei Fori Imperiali and Piazza del Colosseo. The Colosseo metro station on lines B and C is temporarily out of service. Filtering checkpoints for the faithful have been operating since early afternoon. Il Messaggero ↗
Both Slovakia and the Czech Republic can watch today's Way of the Cross live on television. In Slovakia, STVR Dvojka and TV Lux are both broadcasting live, starting at 21:15. TV Lux is offering an all-day Good Friday program including the Passion of John at 7:30, the Way of the Cross from Prešov at 13:05, and the Friday of the Lord's Passion services from Bratislava at 15:00 and from the Vatican at 17:00. Česká televize is broadcasting an Easter spiritual program on ČT2, including services at 11:00, the Římov Passion Way at 12:05, and the Turin Shroud at 12:35. The live broadcast from the Colosseum is also available via Vatican News's live stream.
Pope Leo XIV will carry the cross in the Colosseum today. The first in decades to do so at every station
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