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15h ago

Pope Leo XIV Revives Full Colosseum Via Crucis, Carrying Cross at All 14 Stations

The rare step signals a hands-on papacy focused on peace through moral responsibility.

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession during Good Friday celebrations, outside the Colosseum, in Rome Italy, April 3, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Leo XIV presides over the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession during Good Friday celebrations, at the Colosseum, in Rome, Italy, April 3, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Leo XIV holds a cross as he presides over the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession during Good Friday celebrations, at the Colosseum, in Rome Italy, April 3, 2026. REUTERS/Vincenzo Livieri
Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Overview

  • Pope Leo XIV carried a wooden cross through all 14 Stations at Rome’s Colosseum on Friday, the first time in decades that a pope completed the full Good Friday procession.
  • Meditations written by Franciscan Fr. Francesco Patton paired Gospel readings with St. Francis of Assisi, stressing that faith, hope, and love must be lived in the real world.
  • The texts warned that leaders will answer to God for how they use power and included prayers for war orphans, deported children, refugees, trafficking victims, and political prisoners.
  • About 30,000 people took part in and around the Colosseum, with pilgrims from conflict-hit regions voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.
  • Rome maintained heightened security and traffic limits for Holy Week, with plans continuing for the Easter Vigil and an open-air Easter Sunday Mass with the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing.