Pope Francis writing meditations for Good Friday Way of the Cross

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Each year for the annual tradition of the Via Crucis, presided over by Pope Francis in Rome's Colosseum on the evening of Good Friday, different individuals are entrusted with writing the meditations.

However, this year, the Holy Father has decided to write them himself, the Holy See Press Office disclosed to journalists on Tuesday.

"In prayer with Jesus on the Way of the Cross" is the theme of the reflections that will accompany the fourteen stations at the Colosseum. 

The traditional Way of the Cross celebration at Rome’s Colosseum will begin at 9:15 pm Friday evening.

According to the Press Office, this gesture is "an act of meditation and spirituality," with Jesus at the centre, in the context of the Year of Prayer proclaimed by the Pope.

It will be focused, he noted, on Christ who makes the Way of the Cross and allows one to walk alongside Him.

"It is all centered on what Jesus experiences in that moment, and it is clear that it also enlarges on the theme of suffering," with a broad, but indirect reference to current events.