Pope Francis is writing this year’s Way of the Cross meditations

Pope Francis has written the meditations that will be read during the Way of the Cross celebrated at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, March 29, the Vatican press office announced on March 26, 2024. The theme of these texts, which will accompany the 14 “stations” that mark Jesus’ journey toward his crucifixion, is: “In prayer with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.”

This is the first time that Francis himself has written the meditations for this traditional celebration, which will start inside the Colosseum at 9:15 pm on Friday.

The last pope to have written the meditations himself was John Paul II in 2003, two years before his death.

Since the beginning of Francis’ pontificate, these reflections have most often been written by people who have lived through painful experiences, in particular troubled families, prisoners, migrants, or victims of war.

The Holy See said that the texts written by the Pope this year are “very meditative.”

The meditations “will be very much centered on Jesus, on how he lived through those moments [of his Passion]. And from that, there is then an expansion on the world of suffering,” a representative of the press office said.

The Pope’s decision to take a more personal part in the traditional Way of the Cross on Good Friday is in keeping with the Year of Prayer that the Pontiff has established for 2024, leading up to next year’s 2025 Jubilee.

It remains to be seen whether the Pontiff will be able to attend the Way of Cross, as in recent weeks he has often not been able to read his own speeches due to his health condition. For the moment, his presence is expected.

Last year, however, he chose at the last minute not to attend due to the particularly cold and windy weather and his fragile health.

Read more:How the Vatican’s Way of the Cross got to the Colosseum