At 9:00 p.m. this evening, the Holy Father Francis presided over the pious exercise of the Via Crucis, which was broadcast worldwide.

The texts of the meditations and prayers proposed this year for the Stations of the Via Crucis on Good Friday were entrusted by the Pope to the Chaplaincy of the “Due Palazzi” Detention Centre in Padua. The meditations were written by five prisoners, a family victim of a murder crime, the daughter of a man sentenced to life imprisonment, a prison educator, a probation magistrate, the mother of a detainee, a catechist, a volunteer friar, a prison police officer and a priest accused and then finally acquitted by justice after eight years of trial.

The way of the Cross was let by two groups, each one consisting of five people: that of the “Due Palazzi” Detention Centre of Padua and that of the Vatican Directorate for Health and Hygiene.

The route began near the obelisk, passing around it for eight stations, then proceeding to the part of the square in the form of a fan for four stations. The crucifix of Saint Marcellus was placed beneath the fan, facing the Holy Father. This was the position of the twelfth station. The thirteenth station was halfway along the fan, and the final one was on the platform. The entire itinerary was marked out by torches on the ground.