Pope Leo XIV at the Colosseum in Rome.Image: keystone
April 3, 2026, 10:54 p.mApril 3, 2026, 10:54 p.m
With a large Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Pope Leo XIV commemorated the suffering of Jesus Christ on his first Easter as head of the Catholic Church. The pontiff, in office since May, carried a cross himself at the Stations of the Cross. His predecessor Francis had renounced this. Most recently, the Argentine, who died at Easter 2025, was no longer able to take part in the procession for health reasons.
The procession at the Colosseum in the presence of tens of thousands of people commemorates Jesus’ suffering on Mount Golgotha in Jerusalem, where, according to tradition, he was then executed. Messages were read out at the various stations in the presence of the Pope.
With regard to today’s wars, one of the texts said that every authority will one day have to give an account before God of how they have exercised the power given to them.
Called for an end to wars
This includes “the power to judge, but also the power to start or end a war; the power to educate towards violence or peace; the power to feed the desire for revenge or reconciliation; the power to use the economy to oppress peoples or lift them out of misery; the power to trample on human dignity or to protect it.”
For the first American to lead 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, it is the first Easter in his new office. On Sunday, Leo will give the traditional Urbi et Orbi (The City and the World) blessing in front of tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (sda/dpa)