Online Reporter
POPE Leo XIV lifted a wooden cross and held it aloft from his waist at the start of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has set out to carry the cross to every station.
“I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters last week outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo.
“I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”
Inside the Colosseum, Leo began the procession flanked by two young people holding torches, and followed by the clergy.
At the first station, marking the moment Jesus was condemned to death, the meditation prepared especially for Leo’s first Good Friday underlined that those with authority will have to answer to God for how they exercise their power.
Thousands gathered outside the pagan monument, where the procession continued, following the stations as they were recited over loudspeakers. — Politico.
