April 7, 2007
Italy
Pilgrims mark Holy Week in Rome
By David Willey, BBC News
In Rome tens of thousands of foreign pilgrims are attending Holy Week
ceremonies.
On Easter Sunday morning Pope Benedict will be giving his traditional
blessing and message, Urbi et Orbi, to the city of Rome and to the world.
On Friday night, the white-robed Pope led rites at the Colosseum, the
ancient Roman amphitheatre.
The ceremonies commemorate the suffering and death by crucifixion of Jesus
Christ.
Thousands of pilgrims, each carrying a flickering candle, prayed with him as
a procession of church dignitaries and ordinary believers wound its way
through the 2,000-year-old ruins.
On Saturday night, the Pope will celebrate Easter midnight Mass in St
Peter's Basilica.
As the mass begins, the huge darkened building will be suddenly flooded with
light symbolising the resurrection of Christ.
And on Easter Sunday morning Pope Benedict, who celebrates his 80th birthday
in a few days' time, will deliver his traditional Easter blessing and
message to the city of Rome and to the world.
Thousands of people are planning also to march through the centre of Rome on
Sunday morning in support of international moves to abolish the death
penalty in the diminishing number of countries which still carry out capital
punishment.
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Source : BBC News
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