Skip to content

PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV carries the cross at the Via Crucis in the Colosseum

Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

The pope personally carried the cross through every station of the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum.

Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to “live our lives as a journey” and prayed for the Church to “follow in the footprints” of Christ as he walked the Via Crucis on April 3.

The pope personally carried the cross through every station of the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, the first time in four years the figure of the Supreme Pontiff has been present at the amphitheater.

Cloudinary Asset

A flickering cross towers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Cloudinary Asset

Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Cloudinary Asset

Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Cloudinary Asset

A candle flickers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Cloudinary Asset

Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Cloudinary Asset

Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

This article was originally published by EWTN News English.

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

Catholic priest from Ukraine gives Pope Francis cross made out of war rubble

Father Vyacheslav Grynevych vividly remembers the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine one year ago.
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis | Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Diocese to offer Mass for Benedict XVI

“Let us accompany our dear bishop emeritus in his moment of suffering and trial,” Cardinal De Donatis said.

Leo XIV Celebrates the First Mass “For the Care of Creation”

Pope Leo XIV presided over the first Mass dedicated to the care of creation at Castel Gandolfo, in the newly established Borgo Laudato Si’.

Pope Francis makes urgent call to recover eucharistic adoration in the Church

From Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis on Wednesday reflected on the urgency of taking up again “the prayer of

Pope Francis urges release of hostages, aid for polio outbreak in Gaza

After the bodies of six hostages killed by Hamas were recovered by Israeli forces this weekend, Pope Francis

LIVE | Pope Francis’ Act of Veneration on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Sign up for our newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/ewtn/vatican  LIVE from the Piazza di Spagna, Rome | Pope Francis’ Act

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTNVatican.com