GOOD FRIDAY: CONFESSIONS, LORD'S PASSION, WAY OF THE CROSS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 29, 2002 (VIS) - As is customary on Good Friday, Pope John Paul heard confessions in St.Peter's Basilica, presided at the Lord's Passion in the basilica at 5 p.m. and shortly after 9 p.m. presided at the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum.

Towards noon, the Pope entered St. Peter's Basilica on a small mobile platform, heard the confession of nine people of diverse nationalities and afterwards greeted some of the faithful who were in the Vatican basilica at that hour.

At 5 p.m. he returned to St. Peter's and presided at the celebration of the Lord's Passion, during which Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.P., preacher of the Papal Household, delivered the homily. The liturgy continued with the Prayers of the Faithful, adoration of the Cross and Holy Communion.

Shortly after 9 p.m. the procession of the Way of the Cross began at the Colosseum. Pope John Paul was seated in an armchair on part of the Palatine Hill, overlooking the giant stadium and a crowd estimated at 30,000 faithful. The meditations for this year's Via Crucis were written by fourteen journalists from ten nations, all of whom cover the Vatican for the media they represent.

For the first 13 stations, the Cross was carried by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of Rome, and then faithful from Italy, Madagascar, Mongolia, Colombia and the Holy Land. At the end of the 13th station, the Franciscan friar from the Holy Land gave the Cross to Pope John Paul who, notwithstanding the pain from his arthritic knee, and visibly suffering, stood with the Cross for the readings and meditations of the fourteenth station.

In conclusion, instead of reading a prepared speech, the Holy Father addressed the noticeably moved crowd in an off-the-cuff address, a personal mediation on Christ's death on the Cross, interspersed with many phrases in Latin.

"On this day, Holy Friday, we walk near Golgotha, near the open tomb, the empty tomb, with great hope. Tomorrow, Holy Saturday, is the day of silence, of the mysterious attention to the manifestation of the Mystery of the Resurrection. ... He Who was crucified and buried will rise from the tomb. ... And we will wait for Him on Sunday morning as the One Who defeated death, as the Savior of the World."

JPII-HOLY WEEK;GOOD FRIDAY;...;...;VIS;20020403;Word: 390;