Rome. Pope Leo XIV carried a wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has carried the cross for the entire procession.

“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 outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”

Inside the Colosseum, Leo lifted the cross and began the rite, flanked by two torchbearers who accompanied him throughout the hour-long procession. The route led from inside the ancient arena, through the crowd outside, and up steep steps to the Palatine Hill, where he delivered the final blessing.

At the first station, marking the moment Jesus was condemned to death, a meditation prepared for Leo’s first Good Friday underscored that those in authority will have to answer to God for how they exercise power.

“The power to judge, the power to start or end a war, the power to instill violence or peace, the power to fuel the desire for revenge or for reconciliation,” read the meditation written by the Rev. Francesco Patton, custodian of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025 and charged with overseeing sacred sites.

Some 30,000 faithful gathered outside the Colosseum, following the stations as they were recited over loudspeakers.

They included Sister Pelenatita Kieoma Finau from Samoa, 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

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

For the first two years of his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI carried the cross for the first station inside the Colosseum, then followed other bearers for the remainder of the procession, which ends on a platform atop 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.

John Paul II was 58 when he became pope and was known as a hiker and an outdoorsman. His two successors were in their late 70s at the start of their papacies, and Francis was missing part of a lung due to a pulmonary infection in his youth.

The Way of the Cross commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his condemnation to death through his crucifixion, death, and burial. The procession ends atop the Palatine Hill overlooking the Colosseum.

“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, he worked out regularly at a gym near the Vatican, following a regimen more typical of someone in his early 50s, according to his former trainer.

Holy Week activities

On Holy Saturday, the pontiff will preside over a late-night Easter vigil, during which he will baptize new Catholics, ushering the faithful into Christianity’s most joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

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