There were just a few minutes left before 9:15 p.m., the time at which the Via Crucis was scheduled to begin this Good Friday in the Colosseum in Rome, when two Vatican employees removed the white chair that Pope Francis should have occupied. Almost at the same time, the press office of the Holy See reported that the Pontiff was not going to preside over the ceremony, one of the most suggestive of all Holy Week. The decision was justified by the need to “conserve his health” in view of the vigil that he plans to preside on Saturday night and the Easter mass on Sunday, with the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing and message from the central balcony of the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Francisco chose to follow the Via Crucis from Casa Santa Marta, his residence within the tiny State, causing disappointment and concern among the around 25,000 people who were waiting for him around the Coliseum. This decision, which would have been taken at the last minute after the Pontiff had presided without great difficulty, at least apparently, over the celebration of the Passion of the Lord a few hours before, revives concern among the faithful about his state of health. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who celebrated his 87th birthday in December and celebrated 11 years as bishop of Rome two weeks ago, has already resigned from delivering his homily during last Palm Sunday mass. He then chose to maintain a significant silence because he would not have fully recovered his lung capacity after the flu he suffered a few weeks ago. In recent days, however, he was seen fully recovered and faced the marathon of liturgies of these days without major problems until his unexpected absence occurred at the Via Crucis at the Colosseum.
Last year Bergoglio did not preside over this ceremony either, although then the decision was announced in advance, justifying it due to the “intense cold” and due to the fact that he was still convalescing after having been hospitalized a few days before due to a respiratory infection. In addition to his absence in 2023, there was also great expectation to see the Pope in this Via Crucis in the Colosseum because it was the first time that he had personally written the meditations of the fourteen stations of the cross to remember the path to the death of Jesus Christ. In his texts, Bergoglio celebrated “the greatness” of women, lamenting that even today they are victims of “outrages and violence,” and criticized those who insult others by hiding behind “a keyboard.” He also denounced that there are still Christians persecuted for their faith and remembered the victims of the “madness of war”, highlighting the “faces of children who no longer know how to smile” and that of mothers “who see them malnourished and hungry and “They have no more tears to shed.”
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