POPE Benedict XVI will sit out most of the traditional Way of the Cross procession in Rome's Colosseum on Good Friday, the Vatican said. The 80-year-old pope will preside over the annual event from the Palatine Hill overlooking the Colosseum and will walk for only the final three of the 14 Stations of the Cross commemorating the path Jesus took to his crucifixion, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said today.
The pontiff's schedule is particularly hectic during Holy Week ahead of Easter, and "it is wise for him to marshall his strength a bit", Father Lombardi said.
The Way of the Cross will be led by Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar of Rome, according to the religious news agency I.Media.
The last two years, Benedict, who was elected in 2005, took part in the entire walk, carrying the cross at the first and last stations.
His predecessor John Paul II, who died on April 2, 2005, aged 84, had done the walk for the last time in 2001.
In 2005, when Good Friday fell a week before his death, John Paul II watched the ceremony on television in his private chapel at the Vatican.
Benedict appears to be in good health, although no medical bulletin has been issued since the start of his papacy on April 19, 2005.
The German pope, who turns 81 on April 16, has three foreign trips looming: to the United States in April, Australia in July and France in September.
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