The absence of Pope Francis, to avoid the cold after recovering from bronchitis, marked the Via Crucis celebrated on Good Friday in the Colosseum in Rome, dedicated to the conflicts in the world and with a marked Ukrainian war presence by the letter of two young men, one Ukrainian and the other Russian.

Although he was absent to finish recover after being discharged a week ago, Francis wanted the fourteen meditations on the Via Crucis, which narrate Jesus’ ascent to Calvary, his crucifixion and his deposition in the tomb, to describe what he calls the “Third World War to pieces”. This is the first time that Francis has not personally attended this rite, although John Paul II did not participate in 2005 either due to his delicate state of health, shortly before his death.

The absence did not prevent the Colosseum, a symbol of the persecution of the first Christians, from hosting thousands of faithful again – some 20,000 according to the Vatican – to participate in a rite that dates back to the 18th century, in the time of Benedict XIV, although it was retaken in 1959 by John XIII. At each station along the route, the testimonies of victims of some current tragedies such as forced migration in Africa, the war in Ukraine, the conflicts religious in the middle east and violence in Latin America.

The tenth stop meditation was a letter written by a young Ukrainian and a Russian. The Ukrainian recalled when he fled with his family from Mariupol to Italy, where his grandmother lived, but after a short time they decided to return, since his father was recruited by the Army. “Here the situation continues to be difficult, there is war everywhere, the city is destroyed. But in my heart remained that certainty that my grandmother used to tell me when she cried: ‘You’ll see, everything will pass. And with God’s help, peace will return,'” he implored.

For his part, the Russian admitted that he spoke “guilty” and he recalled when a letter informed his family of his brother’s death: “Everyone told us that we should be proud, but at home there was so much suffering and sadness.”

On behalf of Latin America, a young man from Central America in the third station, and a mother from South America, who took over at the fourth stop. The young man indicated that “discouragement” and “corruption” they make “the spirals of drug trafficking, violence, dependencies and the exploitation of people grow, while many families continue to mourn the loss of their children; and there is no end to impunity for those who swindle, kidnap and kill. How can we obtain peace?”. A mother from South America recounted the drama of living under the action of the guerrillas when telling how in 2012 the explosion of a bomb planted by the guerrillas destroyed his leg”.