ROME —Pope Benedict XVI encouraged those threatened by unemployment and other economic woes to draw courage and strength from the suffering of the crucified Jesus Christ as the pontiff presided over a Good Friday candlelit Way of the Cross procession at the ancient Colosseum.
Benedict, who turns 85 on April 16, didn’t carry the cross during the hour-long procession itself. Instead, he listened intently to meditations on suffering that he asked an elderly Italian couple to compose for the traditional ceremony. Then, as the final reflection was read aloud, the pontiff was handed the slender, lightweight wooden cross, which he held steadily for a few minutes.
Dressed in red robes to symbolize the blood shed by Jesus, the pope said that “these days, too, the situation of many families is made worse by the threat of unemployment and other negative effects of the economic crisis,” such as worry about the future of young people.
But Benedict advised families to “look to Christ’s cross. There we can find the courage and strength to press on.”
After the Colosseum appearance, Benedict’s next public ceremony is an Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this evening. Late Sunday morning, he will preside over an Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
Finally at noon Sunday, the pope will deliver a traditional Easter address to the square. On Easter, Christianity’s most joyous day, Christians commemorate what they believe is Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The Associated Press
