Via Crucis at the Colosseum

The Pope's Via Crucis at the Colosseum

In the heart of Rome, at the foot of the Flavian Amphitheatre, one of the most intense moments of Holy Week is renewed on Good Friday evening: the Via Crucis at the Colosseum, presided over by the Pontiff. By the flickering light of thousands of torches, nearly 20,000 faithful gather in prayer to retrace the fourteen stations of the Passion of Christ, from his condemnation to death to his burial in the tomb. It is a rite that unites the Capital and the Lazio region with the rest of Christendom, thanks to a live television broadcast that reaches millions of homes worldwide.

A centuries-old tradition

The devotion of the Via Crucis at the Colosseum has its roots in 1750, when, for the Holy Year proclaimed by Benedict XIV, fourteen shrines and a large cross were erected in the center of the arena in memory of the Christian martyrs. After a period of interruption, the celebration was restored by John XXIII in 1959 and made an annual fixture by Paul VI in 1965, who gave it an international dimension by broadcasting it via Eurovision for the first time. Since then, the Good Friday appointment has been an integral part of Rome's Easter rites.

The route and the fourteen stations

The procession winds between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, following the traditional structure of the fourteen stations, each dedicated to an episode of the Passion. At each stop, meditations collected in a special booklet are read, entrusted each year to a different figure from the ecclesial world, while the faithful accompany the journey with hymns, prayers, and their characteristic lit torches.

A global event

Broadcast live on Rai 1 and Vatican News channels, the Via Crucis at the Colosseum is followed by millions of people. For the city of Rome, it represents one of the most solemn moments of the year, capable of attracting pilgrims and tourists from every continent and transforming the archaeological area of the Roman Forum into a place of reflection and prayer. In the province of Rome and throughout the Lazio region, there is no other religious rite of equal resonance.