Thousands of Catholics gathered at the Rome Colosseum on Friday (18) for the ceremony of the “Via Sacra” of Good Friday.
The annual tradition provides for the passage of a wooden cross, from one bearer to another, by 14 stations, representing moments of the biblical history of the crucifixion of Jesus. In each season, the procession pauses for prayers and readings.
Pope Francis, still recovering from double pneumonia, did not attend the procession for the third consecutive year. The Vatican stated that Francisco personally wrote the meditations for the ceremony at this year’s Colosseum, for the second time in his 12 years of papacy.
The reflections, each starting with a brief reading of the Bible, were brief and addressed topics such as war, economic difficulties and the place of women in the Catholic Church.
The Holy Friday precedes Easter Sunday, the most important date on the church’s liturgical calendar-which celebrates the day Christians believe that Jesus is risen from the dead.
This content was originally published in Catholics celebrate Friday at the Colosseum in Rome on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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