Pope’s reflections light up Good Friday at Rome’s Colosseum

By AC Wimmer

CNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2025 / 18:05 pm

Against the ancient backdrop of Rome’s Colosseum, thousands gathered Friday evening for the solemn Via Crucis procession. Cardinal Baldassare Reina carried the cross on behalf of Pope Francis, whose spiritual presence was palpably felt through his powerful meditations.

The 88-year-old pontiff, unable to attend the Good Friday ceremony in person for the third consecutive year due to ongoing recovery from bilateral pneumonia, prepared deeply reflective texts that accompanied the 14 stations. Though absent physically, his words provided a particular presence as participants proceeded through the traditional commemoration of Christ’s passion.

In his meditations, Pope Francis contrasted “God’s economy, which does not kill, discard, or crush” with today’s world built on “calculation and algorithms, cold logic and implacable interests.” This divine economy, he noted, “is lowly, faithful to the earth” and follows “the way of the Beatitudes” that “does not crush but cultivates, repairs, and protects.”

The liturgical ceremony began at 9:15 p.m. local time with Reina, the pope’s vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, carrying the cross for the first station. Various groups representing different aspects of the Church and society took turns bearing the wooden cross through subsequent stations, including youth, Caritas volunteers, families, people with disabilities, migrants, health care workers, religious, educators, and jubilee volunteers.

Pope Francis described the Way of the Cross as “the prayer of people on the move” that “disrupts our usual routine” to lead from “weariness to joy.” His meditations stressed how Christ’s path through suffering represents “a change of course and a change of pace — a conversion that restores joy and brings us home.”

“The road to Calvary passes through the streets we tread each day,” the pope wrote in his introduction.

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