Pope Leo XIV embarked on a historic journey on Good Friday, personally bearing a wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum. This marked a significant moment, as it was the first time in several decades that a pope undertook this act for each station during his inaugural Good Friday as the pontiff.

Speaking to reporters outside his retreat at Castel Gandolfo, Leo emphasized the symbolic weight of his gesture. “I believe this will serve as a powerful message,” he noted, “as the pope stands as a global spiritual leader and a voice that echoes Christ’s enduring suffering. I hold all this pain in my prayers.”

Within the ancient walls of the Colosseum, Leo initiated the ritual, accompanied by two torchbearers, who stayed by his side throughout the hour-long procession. The route led him from the Colosseum, through the amassed crowd, and up the steep ascent to Palatine Hill, where he bestowed the final blessing.

At the inaugural station, representing Jesus’s condemnation, a specially prepared meditation for Leo’s first Good Friday highlighted the accountability of those in power to divine judgment regarding their use of authority.

Authored by Rev. Francesco Patton, the meditation articulated, “The authority to judge; to commence or conclude a conflict; to propagate violence or peace; to incite vengeance or reconciliation,” underscoring the responsibilities of power. Rev. Patton served as the custodian of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025, safeguarding sacred locations.

Approximately 30,000 faithful congregated outside the ancient monument, engaged in the solemn stations as they resonated through loudspeakers.

They included Sister Pelenatita Kieoma Finau from Samoa and a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary.

“We have been part of our parish stations of the cross, but this is so exciting. It is very meaningful to have the experience of being with the people of Rome on this special occasion,” she said.

Past processions

John Paul II carried the cross for the entire procession from his first Good Friday as pontiff in 1979 until his hip surgery in 1995, when he carried it just part of the way, according to AP reports at the time.

For the first two years of his papacy, Benedict XVI carried the cross for the first station inside the Colosseum, then followed other bearers in the procession that ends on a platform on the Palatine Hill.

Pope Francis never carried the cross, but participated in the procession until his health worsened. He died after a long illness last year on Easter Monday, which fell on April 21.

Pope John Paul II was just 58 when he became pope, and was known as a hiker and 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.

The Way of the Cross commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his death sentence to taking up the cross to his crucifixion, death and burial. The procession ends outside the Colosseum atop the Palatine Hill.

“The Way of the Cross is not intended for those who lead a pristinely pious or abstractly recollected life,” Patton wrote in his introduction. “Instead, it is the exercise of one who knows that faith, hope and charity must be incarnated in the real world.”

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.

The pope’s Holy Week activities

On Holy Saturday, the pontiff will preside over a late night Easter vigil, during which he will baptize new Catholics, and lead Roman Catholics into Christianity’s most joyous celebration marking Christ’s resurrection.

On Easter Sunday, the pope will celebrate an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square before delivering his Easter message and offer the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city of Rome and the world.