Image: APA/AFP/ALBERTO PIZZOLI
“Due to the low temperatures of these days, Pope Francis will follow the Stations of the Cross this evening from his residence, the Santa Marta Guest House, and will join the prayers of those who will gather with the Diocese of Rome at the Colosseum,” the Vatican Press Office said .
Francis had spent three nights in the hospital last week because of bronchitis. The 86-year-old was released from the clinic on Saturday, and a day later he was again leading the Palm Sunday mass on St. Peter’s Square.
Refugees should carry crosses
The wars in the world and the urgent call for peace are the focus of the Way of the Cross on Friday evening at the Colosseum. According to the Vatican, refugees from various war-torn countries are to carry the cross from station to station: from Ukraine to Nigeria, from Iraq to South Sudan, from Syria to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The refugees who will carry the cross were among the casualties of “World War III bit by bit,” the Pope keeps talking about, the Vatican said on Good Friday. During the meditations on the stations, the aim is to draw attention to the suffering of Christians in some regions of the world, such as the Middle East, or to the tensions that are flaring up again in some areas, such as the Balkans. The Greek-Catholic Church of Santa Sophia in Rome, which has been serving as a hub for humanitarian aid from Italy and the Holy See to Kiev for a year, is to make a contribution to Ukraine.
Young Ukrainian and young Russian pray
The Greek-Catholic Church of Santa Sophia in Rome, which has been serving as a hub for humanitarian aid from Italy and the Holy See to Kiev for a year, is to make a contribution to Ukraine. A young Ukrainian and a young Russian are expected to pray together at the Pope’s Stations of the Cross on Friday night. This should happen at the tenth station. “Voices of Peace from the Youth of Ukraine and Russia” is the title of the meditation in which the two young men are to report on their experiences.
Eight adults are baptized
Thousands of Catholics celebrate the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome on Friday. The procession begins at 9:15 p.m. The Way of the Cross symbolically traces the suffering of Jesus from his condemnation to his death on the cross. Before the Stations of the Cross procession, the pontiff celebrates the Good Friday liturgy (5 p.m.) in St. Peter’s Basilica.
At Saturday night’s Easter Vigil Mass, Pope Francis will baptize eight adults, three of them from the same family, in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican reported on Friday. During the Easter Vigil, the Pope traditionally baptizes a group of adults who have chosen a path of preparation for the Christian life.
Source: Nachrichten
