The ancient Colosseum in Rome, a site steeped in history, provides a unique backdrop for the Way of the Cross, a ceremony led by the Pope with a theme of renewal.

On the evening of April 18, 2025, a palpable sense of anticipation filled the air outside the illuminated Colosseum in Rome. Thousands of faithful had gathered for the traditional Good Friday Way of the Cross ceremony, led by Cardinal Reina and featuring Pope Francis’s meditations on divine mercy and human fragility.

Against the ancient backdrop of Rome’s Colosseum, thousands gathered Friday evening for the solemn Via Crucis procession, where Cardinal Baldassare Reina carried the cross on behalf of Pope Francis.

The 88-year-old pontiff, unable to attend the Good Friday ceremony in person for the third consecutive year due to ongoing recovery from bilateral pneumonia, prepared deeply reflective texts that accompanied the fourteen stations. His absence, a result of his health condition, was a poignant reminder of the frailty of human life and the need for divine mercy.

Rome’s ancient Colosseum, a symbol of endurance and resilience, hosted the Way of the Cross with the Pope’s theme of renewal. Throughout the ceremony, this theme was a powerful reminder of the potential for transformation and growth, even in adversity.

In his meditations, Pope Francis contrasted “God’s economy, which does not kill, discard or crush” with today’s world built on “calculation and algorithms, cold logic and implacable interests.” This divine economy, he noted, “is lowly, faithful to the earth” and follows “the way of the Beatitudes” that “does not crush, but cultivates, repairs and protects.”

The liturgical ceremony, a carefully orchestrated sequence of reverence and devotion, began at 9:15 p.m. local time. Cardinal Reina, the Pope’s vicar general for the diocese of Rome, led the procession by carrying the cross for the first station. This was followed by various groups representing different aspects of the Church and society, each taking turns to bear the wooden cross through subsequent stations.