Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2017 / 15:53 pm
Pope Francis presided over the Stations of the Cross at Rome's Colosseum on Good Friday, asking Christ's forgiveness for the ways we may have fallen short, and imploring the grace to do better in the future.
"O Christ our only Savior, we come back to you again this year with eyes downcast with shame and with a heart full of hope," the Pope prayed April 14.
"We ask you to break the chains that hold us prisoners in our selfishness, in our voluntary blindness and in the futility of our worldly calculations."
Offering his prayer at the conclusion of the annual Good Friday tradition, Francis recalled the different reasons we may have for bringing our shame before Christ on the cross, such as the bloodshed of women, children, and immigrants, or the persecution of people based on race, ethnicity, or religion.