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By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
ROME – In a powerful display of physical endurance and spiritual devotion, Pope Leo XIV led the Good Friday “Way of the Cross” (Via Crucis) at the Colosseum, becoming the first pontiff in decades to carry the wooden cross for the entirety of the 14-station procession.
The 70-year-old pontiff, known for his athletic lifestyle as a tennis player and swimmer, braved the steep stairs of the Palatine Hill and the solemn path through the ancient amphitheater, signaling a new era of active papal leadership following the death of Pope Francis last year.
For the first time since 1994, the Pope is personally carrying the Cross for all 14 Stations of the Cross, as Pope Leo XIV leads the Via Crucis at Rome’s Colosseum in the first Good Friday of his Pontificate. pic.twitter.com/yErx5m9fyo
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) April 3, 2026
“Christ Still Suffers”
The rite began inside the Colosseum, where Leo XIV shouldered the cross flanked by two torchbearers. The hour-long procession commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his condemnation to his burial.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week at the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Leo explained his decision to personally carry the weight of the cross:
“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. I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”
A Message to Those in Power
The meditations for this year’s stations were penned by Rev. Francesco Patton, former Custos of the Holy Land. Reflecting the current global climate of conflict, the first station’s meditation issued a pointed reminder to world leaders about the moral weight of authority.
“The power to judge; the power to start or end a war; the power to instill violence or peace,” the text read, emphasizing that those in power will ultimately answer to God for whether they chose “revenge or reconciliation.”
A Break from Recent History
Leo XIV’s feat marks a significant return to the traditions established by St. John Paul II, who carried the cross for the full procession from 1979 until hip surgery limited his mobility in 1995. In contrast:
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Pope Benedict XVI typically carried the cross only for the first station.
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Pope Francis, who suffered from chronic respiratory and mobility issues, presided over the ceremony but never carried the cross before his passing on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025.
The physical vigor of the new Pope has been a topic of much discussion in Rome. Before his election, Leo XIV was known to maintain a rigorous gym routine near the Vatican, often working out with the intensity of a man twenty years his junior.
The Road to Easter
An estimated 30,000 faithful, including pilgrims from as far as Samoa, gathered outside the Colosseum to follow the liturgy. “It is very meaningful to have the experience of being with the people of Rome on this special occasion,” said Sister Pelenatita Kieoma Finau.
The Good Friday procession is the somber peak of Holy Week, but the mood will shift tonight as the Pope presides over the Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will baptize new Catholics. The week concludes tomorrow with the Easter Sunday Mass and the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World) blessing from the central balcony of the basilica.