Pope Francis showed his adoration for the Crucifixion today on Good Friday by laying face down on the floor in St. Peter’s.
The pope prayed for peace in the Middle East “torn apart by injustice and conflicts.”
The AP reported:
Pope Francis marked his first Good Friday with a traditional torch-lit ceremony around the Colosseum in Rome and prayers for a Middle East “torn apart by injustice and conflicts”.
The newly-elected Argentine pope presided over the re-enactment of the last hours of Jesus Christ’s last hours, praying for Christians in the region and for “our Muslim brothers”.
“Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the cross upon themselves as Jesus did,” said Francis, who followed the ceremony from under a canopy overlooking the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre.
The pope also referred to a visit to Lebanon last year by his predecessor Benedict XVI, who stunned the world by resigning last month at the age of 85.
“We saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and so many others,” the 76-year-old pope said.
Brazilian, Chinese, Italian, Lebanese and Nigerian faithful took turns carrying a wooden cross around the Colosseum, where it is commonly believed that Christians were martyred.
