"Because of the intense cold of these days , Pope Francis will follow tonight's Via Crucis from Casa Santa Marta, joining the prayers of those who will gather with the Diocese of Rome at the Colosseum ".
The Vatican press office made it known. Bergoglio will therefore not be in the Good Friday procession.
A ritual that tonight sees a young Ukrainian and a young Russian pray together . At the tenth station, the one in which Jesus is stripped of his clothes. "Voices of peace from the young people of Ukraine and Russia" is the title of the meditation in which the two boys are supposed to tell their experience. "Jesus, please, let there be peace in the whole world and that we can all be brothers," the young people will say. A similar decision was made last year by the Pontiff, who carried it forward despite the strong criticisms that came from Ukraine and from President Volodymyr Zelensky .
The outline of the Via Crucis also sees at the center of meditations the voices of migrants arriving in Europe from Africa, the appeal of young people from Latin America against drug trafficking and the corruption that are rampant in their countries.
And the testimony of a religious from the Balkan peninsula and a nun from central Africa is also expected to evoke in particular the sufferings of persecuted Christians .
(Unioneonline/L)