In the past three years, the previous pope, Francis, was absent from the Colosseum due to health reasons.
Leo XIV entrusted the preparation of the reflections read at each station to an Italian Franciscan, former custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton. He's got it particular significance in connection with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and significantly limiting the possibility of organizing Holy Week celebrations in Jerusalem for security reasons.
The reflections read at each station were inspired by, among others, the writings of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary of death is celebrated by the Church this year.
Reflections during the Way of the Cross. Criticism of elites and support for migrants
In his introduction, Father Patton wrote: “Just as in Jesus' time, we move in a chaotic, troubled and noisy environment, among those who share faith in him, but also among those who mock and insult him,” and “the believer is constantly tested.” He added that Jesus exposed the pride of power, and “even today there are those who believe that they have been given unlimited power and they think they can use and abuse it as they see fit“.
“Every power will have to give an account to God of the way in which it has exercised the government it has received: the power to judge, but also the power to make war or to end it, the power to educate to violence or to peace, the power to excite the desire for revenge or reconciliation, the power to use economics to oppress peoples or to free them from misery, the power to trample on human dignity or to guard it, the power to promote and defend life or to reject and destroy it,” he said.
The fate of mothers of children who are arrested, tortured, convicted, killed and die in suffering was recalled. A prayer was said to Our Lady for comfort for orphans, migrants, displaced persons and refugees and those who endure torture and unjust punishment.
There is an appeal for empathy and compassion not only in words but also in deeds, for care for the poor, suffering and rejected, for the lonely, deprived of care and dignity, for attention towards every person condemned by prejudice. Prayers were prayed for victims of human trafficking and children “whose childhood was stolen and their future destroyed.” The prayer mentioned people who were depressed and struggling with addiction.
The author of the reflections noted that women were with Jesus and stood under the cross for centuries “they weep for themselves and their children: taken and imprisoned during demonstrations, deported by uncompassionate policies, shipwrecked on desperate journeys of hope, murdered in war zones, annihilated in extermination camps.”
“Give us, Lord, also tears, so that our conscience does not melt into the fog of indifference and so that we remain human” – these are the words of the prayer at the eighth station, at which there was also talk of the need for tears to mourn the victims of wars, massacres and genocide, and the “cynicism of tyrants.”
At the tenth station, “Jesus Stripped of His Clothes,” the author of the reflections wrote: “This is an attempt that repeats itself constantly, also in our times. It is practiced by authoritarian regimes when they force prisoners to be half-naked in empty cells or in courtyards. It is used by torturers who do not stop at tearing off their clothes, but also tear off their skin and flesh. It is used by those who allow and use various forms of search and control, not respecting the dignity of the person. It is used by rapists and abusers who treat victims as objects. It is used by the entertainment industry when it exposes nudity to gain a few additional viewers.
These words were accompanied by a warning: “Every time we fail to respect the dignity of others, our own dignity is weakened.” Solidarity with political prisoners was also expressed.
The Pope's prayer
At the end of the Way of the Cross, Leo XIV prayed: – Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, grant us, miserable ones, to do for You what we know You want and to always want what pleases You, so that, internally cleansed, internally enlightened and inflamed with the fire of the Holy Spirit, we can follow in the footsteps of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Pope added: – May God make his face shine upon you and give you his grace. May he turn his face towards you and give you his peace.
