Pope Francis will not go to the Colosseum in Rome this Good Friday to witness the traditional Stations of the Cross, and instead He will follow him from his residence in the Vatican due to the ‘severe cold’the Holy See communicated.
“Due to the intense cold of these days, Pope Francis will follow the Via Crucis from Casa Santa Marta this afternoon, joining the prayers of those who will meet the Diocese of Rome at the Colosseum”, reported the press office of the Holy See. before the start of the ritual.
The Vatican has confirmed that the Pope will participate in the previous celebration of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica. There the cross will be unveiled before being carried to the Colosseum for the procession.
Francisco, 86, was released from a hospital in Rome on Saturday after receiving treatment for bronchitis. The Vatican then declared that it will carry out the entire Holy Week program, including the procession of the Via Crucis and the Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
On Holy Thursday, the Pope went to a juvenile prison on the outskirts of Rome, where he attended mass and even got up from his wheelchair to wash the feet of twelve prisoners in remembrance of the Last Supper, an act he made days after being discharged from hospital last Saturday, having been hospitalized for several days due to bronchitis.
A Via Crucis to ask for peace
A prayer for the wars in the world and a request for peace will be at the center of the reflections of tonight’s Via Crucis, which will take place in the Colosseum.
According to Vatican sources, Refugees from various warring countries must carry the cross from station to station: from Ukraine to Nigeria, from Iraq to South Sudan, from Syria to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They are its victims “piecemeal third world war” of which the Pope speaks on every occasion. In the stations, whose meditations will be broadcast by the Holy See in the next few hours, reference could also be made to the suffering of Christians in some parts of the world, such as the Middle East, or to the tensions that exist in some areas, such as the Balkans.
Entities that participated in the organization of the Via Crucis more support and help for refugees in Italy, while for Ukraine the Greek-Catholic Church of Santa Sofia could make a contribution, which for a year has been coordinating Italian aid to Kyiv through the mendicant cardinal Konrad Krajewski.
Source: EFE and ANSA
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.