Vatican City, Apr 22, 2011 / 16:33 pm
Pope Benedict XVI spoke at the beginning of the Way of the Cross at the Roman Coliseum, noting that in this “hour of darkness” God reads "the open book of our frail hearts."
The meditations of this year's Way of the Cross were entrusted to Sister Maria Rita Piccione, O.S.A., President of the Our Lady of Good Counsel Federation of Augustinian Contemplatives in Italy. Sister Mary Rita is a member of the Augustinian hermitage of Lecceto, near Siena (Italy,) one of the Tuscan convents of the 13th century and a cradle of the Order of Saint Augustine.
The full opening prayer said by Pope Benedict follows:
Lord Jesus,
you invite us to follow you
in this, your final hour.