On a Good Friday marked by solemnity and the ongoing global conflicts, Leo XIV presided over two central moments of the liturgy: the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica and the traditional Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome. In both events, the central message revolved around the Cross as the path to salvation and non-violence in a world ravaged by hatred and war.

The homily: breaking the chain of evil

In his homily for the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord, Father Roberto Pasolini, Preacher to the Papal Household, recalled how Jesus fully embodied the figure of the Servant of the Lord described by the prophet Isaiah. The Franciscan preacher emphasized that Christ, “pierced for our sins,” introduced a new logic into history: accepting the evil received without returning it, thus transforming his crucifixion into an event of salvation.

“In wars, in divisions, in the wounds that scar relationships, evil continues to circulate because it always finds someone willing to return it and multiply it,” Pasolini stated. Faced with this dynamic, the Cross proposes “a new melody”: laying down weapons, even the small ones that damage daily relationships, and putting one’s life at the service of others. The preacher emphasized that they are “men and women who walk, sometimes without even knowing it, the same path as the Servant of the Lord,” carrying unchosen burdens and seeking good even when it seems futile.

The message concluded with a clear call: in an age “torn apart by hatred and violence,” Christians are invited to approach the Cross “with full confidence,” recognizing it as the throne from which one learns to reign by serving.

Leo XIV carries the Cross in the Colosseum

That evening, at the Colosseum, more than 30,000 faithful accompanied the Pope on his first Way of the Cross as Pontiff. Leo XIV, following the example of Saint John Paul II, personally carried the Cross during the fourteen stations, five inside and nine outside the amphitheater. This symbolic gesture, performed against a backdrop of wars and social divisions, sought to show that “Christ still suffers” and to raise up the sufferings of humanity in prayer.

The meditations, prepared by Father Francesco Patton, a Franciscan friar and former Custos of the Holy Land, invited participants to embody faith, hope, and charity in their daily lives, in the face of the noise and indifference of today’s world. At the end of each station, the faithful prayed the Lord’s Prayer and sang the  Stabat Mater . The celebration concluded with the Apostolic Blessing imparted by the Pope, who closed the service with a prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi expressing total surrender to God and a desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ.