Pope Leo XIV led the Catholic faithful at the 2026 Good Friday Way of the Cross by carrying the Cross throughout the Colosseum in Rome.

Leo became the second pope to carry the Cross for the entire Via Crucis on Good Friday at Rome's Colosseum on April 3, Vatican News reported.

The Pope was joined by around 30,000 faithful and countless people worldwide as he led the Way of the Cross through the candlelit ruins of the ancient Roman edifice on social media, television, and radio.

This is the site that witnessed the martyrdom of many early Christians.

Pope Leo also spoke about the need to end the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine in phone conversations with the presidents of Israel and Ukraine on Good Friday.

The Vatican issued press statements revealing that the Pope had spoken with the presidents separately.

Following the Vatican's usual diplomatic protocol, the statements did not identify who initiated the conversations, but America, the Jesuit news site, said it had learned from an informed Vatican source that the Israeli and Ukrainian sides initiated them.

After Leo's conversation with the Israeli president Isaac Herzog, the Vatican issued a brief and concise statement.

"This morning, April 3, a phone call took place between the Holy Father Leo XIV and Mr. Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel, on the occasion of the paschal festivities."

          - ACHIEVE JUST PEACE

According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office that confirmed the call, "during the conversation, the need to reopen all possible channels of diplomatic dialogue was reiterated, in order to put an end to the serious ongoing conflict, with a view to achieving a just and lasting peace throughout the Middle East."

"As the discussion continued," the Holy See Press Office note concluded, "attention was focused on the importance of protecting the civilian population and promoting respect for international and humanitarian law."

This year, Catholics and Jews are celebrating the paschal feasts around the same time.

Jews celebrate the feast of Pesach (Passover) this year, the 5,786th year in the Hebrew calendar; the feast began at sundown on April 1 and will end at nightfall on April 8.

Catholics, on the other hand, follow the Gregorian calendar and therefore celebrate Easter (the paschal feast) on Sunday, April 5, while Orthodox Christians, who follow the Julian calendar, will celebrate on April 12.

Since Israel and the United States launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Pope Leo has repeatedly called publicly for an end to the conflict and has emphasized the need to open negotiations through dialogue

The Pope also had a telephone conversation on Good Friday with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president.

According to a statement by the Holy See Press Office, "During the cordial conversation, the Holy Father extended his best wishes for the Easter holidays and reaffirmed his closeness to the Ukrainian people."

The statement noted that "They then discussed the humanitarian situation, emphasising the urgency of ensuring that the necessary aid reaches the people suffering from the conflict."

Reference was also made to efforts to promote humanitarian initiatives, particularly the release of prisoners.

The statement concluded, "hope was once again expressed that, with the commitment and cooperation of the international community, hostilities may cease as soon as possible and a just and lasting peace may be achieved."

After his conversation with the Pope, President Zelensky also issued a statement via Telegram which read:

"I spoke today with Pope Leo XIV. Right during this conversation, Russia attacked Ukraine again – hundreds of Shahed drones and dozens of missiles against our cities and towns. The attack has been ongoing since nightfall, and at least five regions have already been hit.

"Not a single hour of rest for our people, and this is Russia's response to our proposal for a ceasefire at Easter. Essentially, the Russians have only increased the intensity of the strikes and, instead of calm in the sky, are carrying out an Easter escalation. This cannot be ignored, and I am grateful to everyone in the world who does not stay silent about this