Good Friday celebration in nearly deserted St. Peter’s Square
For the second time in a row, the Pope has had to celebrate the traditional Stations of the Cross procession without thousands of faithful.
Pope Francis has celebrated the traditional Stations of the Cross procession on Good Friday for the second time in the largely empty St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican because of the Corona pandemic. Only about 200 faithful, cardinals and children took part in the ceremony. Normally, the procession takes place in front of thousands of faithful at the Colosseum in Rome.
The Stations of the Cross are meant to symbolically retrace Jesus’ suffering from his condemnation to death to his crucifixion. The meditations for the 14 stations were written this year by children and young people. Earlier, the pope celebrated the Good Friday liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica with about 200 faithful and church representatives.
On Sunday, the Pope will then preside at Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. Afterwards, he will proclaim his traditional Easter message and give the blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and the world”). Due to the Corona pandemic, a reduced program was planned in the Vatican during the Easter holidays, as in the previous year, with only a few people attending services.
— source: heute.at/picture:pixabay.com
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