Pope Francis has given up attending the traditional Via Crucis that is performed every Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome to take care of himself and not put his health, which has been delicate in recent weeks, at risk. The Press Office of the Holy See has reported in a brief statement minutes before the rite began that the pontiff would not attend to preserve himself for the remaining celebrations of Holy Week, the most important festival of the liturgical year for Christians and that they do contemplate a direct participation of the Pope, who must celebrate the mass of the Saturday Vigil and that of Easter Sunday. “To preserve health before tomorrow’s Vigil and the Holy Mass on Easter Sunday, this afternoon Pope Francis will follow the Via Crucis of the Colosseum from Casa Santa Marta,” the Vatican note reads.
This celebration, which represents Calvary divided into 14 stations in which Christians commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ from his arrest to his crucifixion and subsequent burial in the tomb, does not contemplate the direct intervention of the Pope. The pontiff limits himself to silently witnessing the staging, the route of the cross and the readings. This year, Francis has personally written the meditations for the Via Crucis. It is the first time since 2003 that a Pope has written them. The pontiff had the habit of entrusting them to people who have gone through painful experiences, such as families with problems, prisoners, migrants or victims of war. The representation of Calvary takes place at night in the Roman Colosseum, outdoors and with quite a bit of humidity. The previous days the weather has been inclement in Rome, with heavy rain and winds, although since Thursday the temperatures began to rise and on Friday the weather in the Italian capital was more mild. Last year she already excused his attendance at the religious event because of the cold.
Respiratory problems
Bergoglio, 87, has had respiratory problems since suffering from the flu a few weeks ago. Although the day before he presided, apparently without problems, at the two Holy Thursday masses: the morning one that was celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica and the afternoon one that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ and was celebrated in a prison in women of Rome. There, the Pope, who came in a wheelchair, washed the feet of 12 inmates, as Jesus did to his disciples. The prisoners, many of them crying with emotion, climbed onto a platform and the pontiff passed in front of them, at their feet, to wash them and then kiss them, wearing a white apron, while one of his collaborators pushed the wheelchair that Francis He has used it on most occasions for a long time due to his well-known mobility problems due to a knee problem, although on some occasions he has preferred to walk with the help of a cane. This Friday he also participated in the Passion ceremony that was celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica before the Via Crucis.
Francisco suffered a flu a few weeks ago and, since then, has had some after-effects and it is common for his collaborators to read the speeches he prepares, because he gets tired during long interventions. On Palm Sunday he surprised everyone by not delivering the homily of this celebration that opens Holy Week for Catholics. When he played the reading of the sermon, he kept a long silence. On the other hand, he did read the Gospel before and prayed the Angelus afterwards, asking for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, among other things. The reasons why he made this decision are unknown. Last year, Francisco did not attend the representation of the Via Crucis because of the cold, since he had been admitted for bronchitis a few days before and the doctors advised against it.