After two years of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, public celebrations of Holy Week have resumed almost everywhere in the world with great participation of the faithful: processions, Stations of the Cross, Easter Triduum. The universal Church had a taste of it this Palm Sunday, when more than 65,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square and nearby Via della Conciliazione to attend Mass with Pope Francis.
Palm Sunday
It was exciting to see scenes that we had left behind for more than 24 months: in addition to the large concentrations of people, the Pope's ride in his "popemobile" to greet the crowd at the end of the celebration gave a sense of normality to this new stage that will hopefully take hold. It was equally significant to see St. Peter's Square decorated with hundreds of floral arrangements and decorations, along with the distribution of olive branches. The same decoration, even more detailed, will be seen on Easter Sunday, with the decorations made with the help of Dutch and Slovenian florists.
Maundy Thursday
Along these lines, all the celebrations of Holy Week have been confirmed with the participation of Pope Francis, who, although he has some problems walking due to his knee problem, will preside over all the scheduled rites. Starting with Holy Thursday, with the Chrism Mass in the presence of patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and diocesan and religious priests present in Rome, in the morning at 9.30 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica.
Good Friday
On Good Friday, again in the Basilica, the Holy Father will preside at the Liturgy of the Word with the Adoration of the Holy Cross and Holy Communion, at 5 p.m., while in the evening the traditional Way of the Cross will resume in the Colosseum, also after the stop of the pandemic, at 9.15 p.m., at the end of which the Pope will address a few words and impart the Apostolic Blessing.
Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum
The Pope wanted to entrust the meditations of the Way of the Cross to some families this year, since we are in the year dedicated to them, while celebrating the 5th anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, which will conclude in June with the 10th World Meeting of Families.
Among the 14 families represented are a young couple, a family on a mission, an elderly couple, a large family, a family with a disabled child, a family with adopted children, a widow with her children, a family of emigrants, in short, the whole cross-section of society with its problems and concerns. There is also a reference to the tragedy of war, to the point that at the 13th station, a Ukrainian and a Russian family will carry the cross. The meditations themselves are inspired by the life journey of each of the groups represented, with all their dramas and hopes.
It is also interesting that the texts of the Stations of the Cross are illustrated with reproductions of miniatures taken from two manuscripts in the Vatican Library: a book of meditations on the Passion and a 15th century Book of Hours.
Easter Resurrection
The Easter Vigil will always take place in St. Peter's Basilica at 7:30 p.m. on Holy Saturday; here, too, Patriarchs, Cardinals and Bishops will concelebrate with the Pope. On the day of the Lord's Resurrection, the faithful will return to St. Peter's Square for the Mass of the day at 10 a.m. - followed by the Urbi et Orbi blessing given by Pope Francis from the central loggia of the Basilica.
Ukraine
With regard to the war in Ukraine, the Pope will be close to the populations tormented by the conflict also during the Easter Triduum, materially through Cardinal Elector Konrad Krajewski, who has arrived for the third time in Kiev, where on Holy Thursday he will deliver a second ambulance on behalf of the Pontiff. He will then stay for all the Holy Week celebrations with the local Christian communities.
