Pope Leo XIV made history this Good Friday by being the first pontiff in decades to carry a wooden cross for all 14 Stations of the Cross.
Flanked by two torchbearers, video showed the Holy Father carrying the cross throughout the hourlong procession held inside the Roman Colosseum that carried on out through the crowd outside before ending with a final blessing on Palantine Hill. Take a look:
“I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”
Close to 30,000 Christians gathered outside the Colosseum to watch the procession – the first in which the Holy Father carried the cross for its entirety since Good Friday in 1995 after then-Pope John Paul II’s hip surgery.
“Pope John Paul II was just 58 when he became pope, and was known as a hiker and an outdoorsman. His two successors were in their late 70s when they began their papacies, and Francis was missing part of a lung due to a pulmonary infection as a young man,” noted CBS News.
“At 70, Leo is physically fit and an avid tennis player and swimmer. Before becoming pope, Leo would work out regularly at a gym near the Vatican, with a plan befitting a man in his early 50s, according to his former trainer,” it added.
The Vatican published words spoken by the Holy Father during The Way of the Cross procession on its website.
“The Way of the Cross winds through the narrow streets in the Old City of Jerusalem, allowing us to retrace Jesus’ path from the place of his condemnation to that of his crucifixion and burial, which is also the site of his resurrection,” the introduction says.
“This route is not reserved for the devout or those seeking a quiet space for prayer. Rather, as in the time of Jesus, we find ourselves walking through a chaotic, distracting and noisy environment, surrounded by people who share our faith in him, but also by those who deride or insult him. Such is the reality of our daily life,” it adds.
The Holy Father also became the first pope in 13 years to wash the feet of priests on Holy Thursday.
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