Vatican — Pope Francis skipped the Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum on Friday in an apparent last-minute decision to protect his health ahead of liturgies scheduled for Saturday and Easter Sunday. did.
“In order to protect his health in anticipation of tomorrow’s Vigil and Easter Mass, Pope Francis will this evening retrace the Via Crucifixion of the Colosseum from Casa Santa Marta,” the Apostolic Press announced.
The news arrived at the scheduled start time of the event. There, two men were seen carrying away the pope’s chair, and Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtiray, was seen standing in the background. Earlier in the day, Pope Francis presided over the Good Friday liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica.
This is the second year in a row that the 87-year-old pope will be absent from the ceremony, with his increasingly failing health becoming a major concern.
The Stations of the Cross began immediately at 9:15pm Roman time, with no changes to the rest of the program. An estimated 25,000 people attended, according to the Holy See’s press office.
In contrast to Rome’s dark skies, the Colosseum was dramatically illuminated with a series of candles, and the ruins of the adjacent Roman Forum towered under the spotlight.
This year’s meditation, written by Pope Francis for the first time since his pontificate, is based on the theme of “Prayer with Jesus at the Way of the Cross,” and each meditation focuses on an experience of Jesus that the Pope connected. Modern issues and challenges of daily life.
“Jesus, you are life itself and now you are sentenced to death. You are truth itself and now you are on trial for treachery,” he said at the first station of the cross. The Pope’s reminiscences were read.
“But that silence itself is pregnant. It is prayer, it is meekness, it is forgiveness. It is a means of atoning for evil, a means of turning your passion into a sacrificial gift.”
Walking around the interior of the oval amphitheater in a solemn procession, various figures carry crosses, followed closely behind by Cardinal Angelo de Donatis (Papal Vicar of the Diocese of Rome) and several other prelates. Ta.
In the second station, in a meditation addressed to Christ, he said: Thank you, Jesus. I unite my cross with your cross, I bring my weariness and worries to you, I cast all the burdens of my heart on you. ”
“In your weakness, you showed us the triumph of love. You showed us that loving means reaching out to those who are ashamed to ask us for help. “In this way, weakness becomes an opportunity for growth,” the Pope mused as a disabled woman carried her cross.
In one particularly evocative moment, the cross was carried by a group of immigrants at the ninth station, and the pope meditated on their struggle and social exclusion, linking it to the sufferings of Jesus.
“you [Jesus] They were also imprisoned. You too were a stranger taken outside the city to be crucified. You also took off your clothes and became naked. You were also sick or injured. On the cross, you too were thirsty and hungry for love. Teach me to see You in those who are suffering. Because you are there. And you are among those stripped of dignity by the arrogance, injustice and power of those who exploit the poor in general indifference. ”
The ceremony concluded outside the Colosseum with Cardinal de Donatis offering a final blessing and invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus. The 15-verse prayer ended simply but powerfully: Thank you, my Lord and my God! ”
