(Rome) Thousands of the faithful attended Friday evening the Stations of the Cross presided over by the Pope at the Colosseum in Rome, for the first time since 2019, a ceremony overtaken by the war in Ukraine.
Posted at 5:24 p.m.
“I have lived in Rome for more than 30 years but today it seemed very important to me to come,” confides Stefania Cutolo, a 52-year-old Italian teacher, while the pontifical choir rehearses the songs.
“Tonight’s message, after two years of closure due to the pandemic, is doubly important. In this context where nationalisms are returning to Europe, we must act,” she adds.
Shortly after 9 p.m., in front of 10,000 faithful, the sovereign pontiff opened this highlight of Holy Week which brings to life the Calvary of Christ, from his death sentence to his crucifixion, his death and his burial, according to tradition. Christian.
Organized since 1964 in the sumptuously illuminated Roman amphitheater, the “Via Crucis” was held in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican in 2020 and 2021, with very low attendance, due to the health crisis linked to COVID- 19.
“We meet the whole world here, we hear all the languages. It’s wonderful, ”enthuses Marie-Agnès Bethouart, 71, who arrived at 5 p.m. with her husband and two grandsons, who welcomes the pope’s initiative on Ukraine.
In the crowd, a yellow and blue flag stands out in the middle of the candles. Among the families who have been entrusted with carrying the crucifix at each of the 14 stations are two women, Russian and Ukrainian, friends in life.
But this, thought as a gesture of reconciliation in the face of the war that has ravaged the country since February 24, has aroused the ire of Ukrainian officials according to whom the Vatican is sending back to back aggressor and attacked.
“More empathy”
On Tuesday, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Monsignor Sviatoslav Shevchuk, denounced an “untimely, premature and ambiguous idea, which does not take into account the context of military aggression by Russia”. For his part, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See said “to share the general concern”.
And the Ukrainian media boycotted the broadcast of the ceremony, while the Vatican added commentary in Ukrainian and Russian for the worldview broadcast.
In the crowd, Anastasia Goncharova, an 18-year-old Ukrainian tourist, said she was “speechless” seeing the two countries put on the same level.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Our nations are no longer sisters. (The Russians) kill and rape our children, steal our homes. It disgusts me. This war must stop,” said the student, with tears in her eyes.
In the end, the two women carried the crucifix well together. A sober message calling for “praying for peace in the world” was followed by a collected silence, replacing the text initially planned which was to address the war in Ukraine.
But whatever its form, most of the faithful welcome the initiative. “It is both the cross, therefore the pain of these two peoples, but also the hope, because we believe that after the war there will be peace. It’s very beautiful, “says M.me Bethouart.
“It is an exceptional message, a symbol of peace and courage. We all need to have more empathy when looking at others. Which tends to get lost in new generations. », Adds M.me Cutolo.
Before leaving, the pope, who repeatedly castigated the conflict without ever mentioning the name of Vladimir Putin, prayed that the “adversaries will shake hands” and “taste mutual forgiveness”. “Disarm the raised hand of brother against brother,” he said.