Pope Leo XIV to carry cross for the entire Way of the Cross on Good Friday
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- Pope Leo XIV will personally carry the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades a pope has done so.
- This act echoes Pope John Paul II’s tradition from 1979 to 1995, while his successors Benedict XVI and Francis carried the cross only partially or not at all due to age and health.
- At 70, Leo is physically fit and active, enabling him to undertake the full procession, which commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life and culminates atop the Palatine Hill.
- The meditations for the stations were composed by Rev. Francesco Patton, emphasizing that faith must be lived out in the real world, not just in abstract piety.
- On Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, Pope Leo will lead significant celebrations including the Easter vigil at St. Peter’s Square, an open-air Mass, and deliver the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
