Overview
- Pope Leo XIV carried the wooden cross through all fourteen Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum on Friday, the first full papal procession since 1964.
- The meditations, written by Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, condemned claims of unlimited authority and dwelled on the human toll of war, from grieving mothers to prisoners and children.
- Before the ceremony Friday, the Pope spoke with Israel’s Isaac Herzog to urge the reopening of diplomatic channels and to stress protection of civilians and respect for humanitarian law.
- Herzog’s account emphasized the threat of Iranian missile attacks on Jerusalem, showing a sharper security focus than the Vatican’s more diplomatic readout.
- In a separate call with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, the Pope backed humanitarian aid and prisoner releases, and Zelensky invited him to visit Kyiv.