Pope Leo XIV to Carry Cross at All 14 Stations of the Way of the Cross in Historic Good Friday at the Colosseum

For the first time in over sixty years, a pope will personally carry the cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum.

Newsroom (01/04/2026 Gaudium Press )In a historic act of devotion and symbolism, Pope Leo XIV will personally carry the cross through all 14 Stations of the Cross during this year’s Via Crucis at Rome’s Colosseum on Good Friday—the first of his pontificate. It marks the first time in more than six decades that a pope will bear the cross himself for every station of the Way of the Cross at the ancient amphitheater, a gesture anticipated to draw thousands of faithful and observers worldwide.

The 70-year-old pontiff’s decision represents a striking departure from the pattern set by his recent predecessors. Both Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II carried the cross only at the opening and closing stations. Pope Francis, in contrast, presided over the Via Crucis from the nearby Palatine Hill, and in his final years, he was unable to attend altogether due to declining health.

The Colosseum’s connection to Christian remembrance dates back to 1756, when Pope Benedict XIV dedicated the site to honor the Passion of Christ and the memory of early Christian martyrs. For about a century afterward, the Stations of the Cross were prayed regularly inside the ancient monument. While the tradition faded in the later 19th century, it was revived by St. John XXIII. St. Paul VI subsequently formalized the practice as a hallmark of Rome’s Holy Week observances.

For Holy Week 2026, Pope Leo has designated Franciscan Father Francesco Patton—who served as custos of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025—to compose the meditations for this papal Way of the Cross. Father Patton, often writing from Mount Nebo in Jordan, is known for his compassionate reflections on the suffering of those caught amid conflict in the Middle East. The Holy See Press Office has confirmed that his meditations will be published on the morning of Good Friday, April 3.

Last year’s Via Crucis meditations were authored by the late Pope Francis, shortly after his prolonged stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Although he had prepared the texts, poor health prevented him from attending the Colosseum ceremony.

Pope Leo XIV’s Holy Week schedule also includes the revival of a long-standing papal custom for Holy Thursday: celebrating a public Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. During the liturgy, he will perform the traditional washing of feet, a ritual commemorating humility and service.

In recent years, Pope Francis had chosen to celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass privately in prisons, washing the feet of inmates in a gesture of solidarity with the marginalized. By returning to St. John Lateran, Pope Leo XIV is restoring the full public celebration of the Easter Triduum liturgies to their traditional Roman settings for the first time in several years.

The images of Pope Leo XIV carrying the cross across all fourteen stations at the Colosseum are expected to resonate deeply with the faithful—a symbol not only of penitence but also of renewed continuity in the papacy’s ancient public witness to the Passion of Christ.

• Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News

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