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

A flickering cross towers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
A flickering cross towers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
A candle flickers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
A candle flickers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
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