Pope John Paul's flesh may be weak but his spirit remains indomitably strong. At the end of a long Good Friday, the ailing 81-year-old Pope threw away the prepared text of his concluding homily at last night's dramatic Via Crucis in Rome's Colosseum, preferring instead to make a spontaneous address that was more mystical prayer than clerical sermon.
Looking tired, the Pope took up the cross for the 14th and last station of last night's Via Crucis, or "way of the cross", held as always in the haunting surrounds of a candle-lit Colosseum. Watched closely by his private secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who on occasion reached out a steadying hand, the Pope carried the cross slowly but surely.
When it came to his traditional homily, however, the Pope, as often on such occasions, appeared to gain new strength. Perhaps in defiance of those close advisers who had persuaded him not to follow the entire Via Crucis on foot, but rather to watch it knelt in prayer on the Palatine Hill, he dispensed entirely with his script, speaking off the cuff in both Italian and Latin:
"As we move into the third millennium, we want to send out this message, this divine-human truth . . .of how the Son of God, accepting this humiliation, the humiliation of a death reserved for slaves, led us to the adoration and glorification of God, Adoramus Cristo . . . This truth, which we confessed earlier today in the Basilica of St Peter's and now here at the Roman Colosseum, may it be for us the Way and the Light in this new era, begun just a few months ago. . ."
The Pope's stumbling, slightly slurred words appeared to contrast with the smooth flow of the Easter message as spelt out in his prepared text.
The Pope's reference to the Basilica of St Peter's served to underline how he had begun his Good Friday in traditional manner, donning a black cloak (for the only day in the year) to hear confession from 12 pilgrims selected at random from the thousands of faithful visiting the Basilica yesterday morning.
In the afternoon, he presided over the liturgy of the Passion of Christ, again in the Basilica, before crossing the Tiber to take part in the Via Crucis.