Pope Leo XIV’s first Easter Triduum blends tradition and renewal, with the pope personally carrying the cross at the Colosseum on Good Friday.
Newsroom (02/04/2026 Gaudium Press ) Pope Leo XIV’s first Easter Triduum as pontiff will unfold this week with a blend of old traditions and profoundly personal gestures. Beginning on Holy Thursday, his liturgical schedule signals both continuity with papal history and subtle shifts that mirror his vision of pastoral ministry.
The Vatican has confirmed that the new pope will preside over the Chrism Mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica, joining the diocesan clergy of Rome in blessing the oils used throughout the year for sacraments. Later, in a nod to ancient custom, he will celebrate the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St. John Lateran — Rome’s cathedral and his own episcopal seat.
This is a marked return to the traditional setting for Holy Thursday. Pope Francis, in contrast, moved the Mass to prisons, rehabilitation centers, and refugee shelters, often washing the feet of inmates, women, and non-Christians. For Pope Leo, however, this year’s ritual will follow the earlier practice: the washing of the feet of 12 Roman priests, many of whom he personally ordained last year.
Good Friday’s Profound Departure
If Holy Thursday evokes tradition restored, Good Friday promises innovation charged with symbolism. At 5:00 p.m., Pope Leo will preside at the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica. As is custom, the preacher to the papal household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, will deliver the homily — though the Vatican has not ruled out a personal reflection from the pope himself.
Yet it is the evening’s Via Crucis at the Colosseum that will mark this Triduum as historic. For the first time, a pope will carry the cross personally through all the stations of the ancient amphitheater. His predecessors—Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis—participated symbolically, carrying the cross at select moments or presiding from afar.
“I think it will be an important sign because of what the Pope represents,” Leo XIV said earlier this week. “A voice to say that Christ still suffers — and I carry all these sufferings in my prayers as well.”
This year’s meditations were written by Fr. Francesco Patton, former Custos of the Holy Land, continuing a Vatican tradition that began when Pope Saint Paul VI revived the Colosseum devotion in the mid-20th century.
From the Vigil to the Dawn of Easter
Holy Saturday will unfold in its time-honored rhythm, with the Easter Vigil at 9:00 p.m. The pope is expected to baptize and confirm several adults, continuing the ritual that marks the culmination of Christian initiation.
On Easter morning, St. Peter’s Square will bloom into color and fragrance. Nearly 100,000 flowers from the Netherlands—tulips, hyacinths, delphiniums, and gerberas—will adorn the square. The floral gifts, blessed in Rotterdam on March 31, continue a 40-year tradition begun by Dutch florists after Pope John Paul II’s 1985 visit to their country.
Pope Leo will celebrate Easter Mass at 10:15 a.m. and deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing to Rome and the world from the basilica’s central balcony. Thousands of pilgrims are expected to fill the square, made radiant by sunlight and Dutch blossoms.
Quiet After the Celebration
On Easter Monday, the pope will lead the Regina Caeli prayer before retreating to the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo for several days of rest and reflection. For a pope embarking on his first full liturgical year, this week’s blend of renewal and return to roots captures both his identity and intention: to carry the cross faithfully while drawing the Church back to its enduring center.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
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