The theme chosen to guide this year’s Stations of the Cross meditations was ‘In prayer with Jesus on the way to the Cross’.
Photo: Vatican Media.
Newsroom (27/03/2024 20:25, Gaudium Press) The Vatican Press Office has reported that the meditations for this year’s Way of the Cross in the Colosseum will be written by the Pope himself. This is the first time this has happened in Francis’ pontificate. In recent years, the texts of the meditations have been prepared by bishops, religious, families, young people, students, couples, missionaries, migrants and war refugees.
Theme of the Way of the Cross in the Colosseum 2024
This year, the theme chosen to guide the meditations that will accompany the fourteen stations that recall the journey of Our Lord Jesus Christ to Calvary was ‘In prayer with Jesus on the way to the Cross’. This meaningful moment of prayer on the evening of Good Friday will be “an act of meditation and spirituality, with Jesus at the center. It is he who makes the way of the Cross and we walk it with him. Everything is very much centered on what Jesus experiences at that moment and of course the theme of suffering is expanded…”.
The Way of the Cross will be linked to the Year of Prayer
The proposal is that this year’s meditations have fewer direct references to current events, unlike previous years. According to the Holy See Press Office, although “in this Way of the Cross, the references are broader, because it is a prayer, the references are still present… The prayer does not cover a category of people, but a situation”. This option is related to the Year of Prayer called by Pope Francis in preparation for the Jubilee.
Pope Francis’ presence confirmed
The Vatican also confirmed the Holy Father’s presence at the Stations of the Cross in the Colosseum, which will take place on the evening of March 29, despite Francis’ state of health and the drop in temperatures in Rome. “At the moment, there are no changes to what has already been planned,” says a statement from the Holy See. The cross bearers along the ancient streets around the Colosseum and other details of this Way of the Cross will be announced on Good Friday itself. (EPC)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
