Pope Leo XIV will carry the cross throughout the Via Crucis in the Colosseum

On Thursday night, The Pope washed the feet of twelve priestsremembering the first celebration of the Eucharist. In the basilica of Saint John Lateran, where the Pope’s chair is guarded in his role as pastor, the bishop of Rome met with his priests.

The Pope presided over the mass in Lord’s Supper before washing the feet of his priests, “who have decided to follow God’s call.”

This Friday, the Pope will preside over the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord, which remembers the death of Christ with the adoration of the Cross and Eucharistic Communion.

At the same time, Cardinal Baldassarre Reina will preside over the same celebration in the Basilica of San Juan de Letrán.

At night, the Pope will carry the Cross at the fourteen stations of Calvary from 9:15 p.m., local time, with the participation of the cardinal vicar.

In the pontiff’s decision to personally walk the fourteen stations, the Vatican reported that there is the memory of the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi and also a special attention to the dramatic current events in the Middle East.

Although there are important precedents of a pontiff carrying the Cross, what has been announced for this Good Friday would mark a milestone for the extension of physical effort as it involves all seasons.

John Paul II also did it for much of his pontificate: he himself carried the heavy wooden cross in the Colosseum.

As his disease (Parkinson’s) progressed, his physical participation was reduced.

Pope Francis, due to his mobility and health problems in recent years, used to preside over the rite from a platform in front of the Colosseum or, on recent occasions (such as in 2024 and 2025), must have been absent to take care of your health ahead of the Easter Vigil. In those cases, the cross was carried by faithful or by the cardinal vicar.

The comments from the pilgrimage through the fourteen stations of Calvary this Friday have been confided to the fraile menor Francesco Pattonwho was custodian of the Holy Land for almost a decade, from May 2016 until last June.