ROME (CNS) -- Life must be lived as a journey seeking to follow in Jesus' footsteps, Pope Leo XIV said after completing the Stations of the Cross at Rome's Colosseum.

"Let us make our own the prayer by which St. Francis invites us to live our lives as a journey of ever-deepening participation in the communion of love that unites the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," he said at the conclusion of the nighttime service April 3.

It was the first time since 2022 that a pope presided in person at the candlelit ceremony; several bouts of poor health had prevented Pope Francis from attending the ceremony in his final years. It was also the first time since 1994 a pope carried the cross for all 14 stations -- something St. John Paul II had started at the beginning of his pontificate.

Pope Leo told reporters March 31 that carrying the cross for the entire route would be "an important sign because of what the pope represents -- the spiritual leader of the world today -- and because of this message that everyone wants to hear and say: that Christ still suffers." 

"I, too, carry all this suffering in my prayers, and I would like to invite all people of goodwill, people of faith, all Christians, to walk together, to walk with Christ who suffered for us to give us salvation and life, and to seek how we, too, can be bearers of peace and not of hatred," he had said.

Because 2026 marks the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Leo asked Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, who served as custos of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025, to write the meditations for this year's Good Friday service.

St. Francis always invited the faithful to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the Franciscan priest wrote in his introduction. May walking the Way of the Cross "be more than a mere ritual or intellectual journey, but one that transforms our entire person and life."

The readings, prayers and reflections touched on the many forms of suffering and pain afflicting the world today, and implored deliverance from evil, temptations and fear.

"Every person in authority will have to answer to God for the way they exercise their power," he wrote for the first station, "Jesus is condemned to death." 

People have the power to: judge; start or end a war; instill violence or peace; fuel the desire for revenge or for reconciliation; use the economy to oppress people or to liberate them from misery; trample on human dignity or to uphold it; and the power to promote and defend life, or reject and stifle it, he wrote.

But Jesus says, "whatever you do to another human being, especially to the small and vulnerable, you do unto me. And it is to me that you will one day give an account," he wrote.

True power, he wrote for the 11th station, "Jesus is nailed to the cross," is rooted in learning how to forgive "and to bear the difficulties of life in peace, because it is not love of power that conquers, but the power of love."

For the eighth station, "Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem," Father Patton wrote about the women who weep throughout history. "For centuries, they have wept for themselves and for their children, children taken away and imprisoned during protests, deported by policies devoid of compassion, shipwrecked on desperate journeys of hope, killed in war zones, and wiped out in death camps."

"Give us tears once more, Lord, lest our conscience fade into the fog of indifference and we cease to be fully human," he wrote.  

For the 10th station, "Jesus is stripped of his garments," the priest wrote about the many forms of violation repeated today, such as torture, intrusive surveillance, rape and abuse. It also includes "when the entertainment industry exploits nudity for the sake of profit; when the media exposes individuals to public opinion; and even when we ourselves, through our curiosity, fail to respect the modesty, intimacy and privacy of others."

"Remind us, Lord, that each time we fail to recognize the dignity of others, our own dignity is diminished. And whenever we condone or take part in inhuman behavior toward any person, we ourselves become less human," he wrote.

At the conclusion of the Way of the Cross, Pope Leo gave his blessing and recited a prayer written by St. Francis, asking that "God give us miserable ones the grace to do for you alone what we know you want us to do and always to desire what pleases you."

"Inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footprints of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and, by your grace alone, may we make our way to you," he prayed.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A message of nonviolence and quiet endurance marked the Good Friday liturgy at the Vatican, during which the Passion of Christ offers an example of breaking the cycle of violence that continues today.

Delivering the homily during the solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion ahead of the evening Via Crucis, Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, the preacher of the papal household, urged the faithful not to give in to violence, but rather find the "discreet and stubborn song that invites (us) to love."

"We are all constantly tempted to use a little bit of aggressiveness, a little bit of violence, thinking that without these means things will never be resolved," he said April 3 in St. Peter's Basilica. "The servant of the Lord cannot give in to this instinct."

The rite began with Pope Leo XIV's silent procession down the central nave. Dressed in red vestments, symbolizing the blood of Christ’s Passion, he somberly lay prostrate before the altar, a sign of adoration and penance. The readings recounted Christ's passion and death on the cross.

At the moment of the veneration of the cross, the pope removed his chasuble and shoes and knelt before the crucifix in a gesture of humility. Clergy followed one by one, venerating the crucifix on bended knee and with a kiss.

Father Pasolini’s homily echoed Pope Leo's repeated calls for an end to war, warning that "in a time like ours, still so lacerated by hatred and violence, where even the name of God is invoked to justify wars and decisions of death…."

He said this evil continues "to circulate because it always finds someone willing to return it and multiply it."

The homily emphasized that resisting this evil of violence is neither easy nor instinctive. Faced with injustice, the natural human reaction is to retaliate or "even the scores." Yet Jesus refused that instinct entirely.

"He accepts everything without returning violence," Father Pasolini said. 

Jesus "broke this chain," not through superior force, but by embracing suffering and responding with forgiveness, silence and compassion, the papal preacher said.

Father Pasolini pointed to what he called a "silent line of people," ordinary men and women who, often unnoticed, choose to resist hatred in their daily lives.

"They get up every day and try to make their life something that is not only for them, but also for others," he said. "They carry burdens that they have not chosen, they receive wounds without becoming bitter, they don't stop looking for the good, even when it seems useless."

ROME (CNS) -- God doesn't exist to grant victories or to be useful by providing wealth or power, Pope Leo XIV said.

Through Jesus, he serves humanity by offering himself in a way that transforms human hearts so that they may then be inspired to love others unconditionally, in turn, he said in his homily during Mass of the Lord's Supper in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

"Jesus purifies not only our image of God -- from the idolatry and blasphemy that have distorted it -- but also our image of humanity," he said April 2, Holy Thursday. "For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared." 

However, he said, "Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service and love" so that humankind can learn how to love according to what true love is.

In fact, he said, learning to act like Jesus "is the work of a lifetime."

The Lord loves not because those he reaches out to are good or pure, Pope Leo said, but simply because "he loves us first."

"His love is not a reward for our acceptance of his mercy; instead, he loves us, and therefore cleanses us, thereby enabling us to respond to his love," he said. "He does not ask us to repay him, but to share his gift among ourselves."

"In him, God has given us an example -- not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it," Pope Leo said. 

"As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed," he said. "In this way, we seek to follow the Lord's example."

The pope's words came during a Mass that commemorates Jesus' institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and includes the traditional foot-washing ritual, which reflects the call to imitate Christ by serving one another. 

Pope Leo returned to an earlier practice of washing the feet of 12 priests from the Diocese of Rome in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. The pope poured water from a golden pitcher onto the foot of each priest, wiped each foot dry with a towel and then gently kissed each foot.

Pope Francis had departed from the norm after his election in 2013 by celebrating the Mass in one of Rome's "peripheries," such as prisons or nursing homes, and by washing the feet of men, women and their infants, Muslims or people of no faith, as a sign of his dedication to serve everyone unconditionally. 

Pope Francis' predecessors had always chosen either 12 priests, laymen or boys from the diocese for the ritual held either in the Basilicas of St. John Lateran or of St. Peter.

By choosing 12 priests, 11 of whom he ordained last year, Pope Leo highlighted the Mass' commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist and of holy orders.

"The intrinsic bond between these two sacraments reveals the perfect self-gift of Jesus, the high Priest and living, eternal Eucharist," he said in his homily. 

"Beloved brothers in the priesthood, we are called to serve the people of God with our whole lives," he said.

Jesus' disciples were astonished by their master's gesture and, like Peter, "we too must 'learn repeatedly that God's greatness is different from our idea of greatness … because we systematically desire a God of success and not of the Passion,'" he said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI.

"We are always tempted to seek a God who 'serves' us, who grants us victory, who proves useful like wealth or power. Yet we fail to perceive that God does indeed serve us through the gratuitous and humble gesture of washing feet," he said. "This is the true omnipotence of God."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to reject comfort, power and domination and instead embrace a mission rooted in self-giving love, even when it requires risk, vulnerability and suffering.

As Catholics prepare for Easter on Holy Thursday, Pope Leo also called on the faithful in his homily to overcome fear and a sense of powerlessness in responding to the world’s crises. 

"In this dark hour of history, it has pleased God to send us to spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns," he said April 2 at St. Peter's Basilica during Mass. "Let us renew our 'yes' to this mission that calls for unity and brings peace."

While grounding his remarks in the teaching of his predecessors, saints and clergy, the pope in this homily placed particular emphasis on the Church’s mission through his own eyes as a missionary. 

The first step of accepting the Christian mission, he said, is to risk leaving behind what is familiar and certain, in order to venture into something new.

"Every mission begins with that kind of self-emptying in which everything is reborn," he said. 

It is through this self-emptying that Christians encounter the love of Christ, the pope said. 

At the heart of his first Holy Thursday homily as pope, he reflected on the nature of Christian love, saying it is rooted not in power, but in self-giving.

"Jesus’ journey reveals to us that the willingness to lose oneself, to empty oneself, is not an end in itself, but a condition for encounter and intimacy," Pope Leo said. "Love is true only when it is unguarded."

He said true peace is not found in remaining comfortable, but in embracing the risk and detachment that mission requires. Calling it a “fundamental secret of mission,” the pope said “everything is restored and multiplied if it is first let go, without fear,” a process repeated “in every new beginning, in every new sending forth.”

God calls upon the faithful to take risks, so "no place becomes a prison, no identity a hiding place," he said. Every mission requires reconciliation with the past, with the "gifts and limitations of the upbringing we have received," the pope said.

Once the faithful are able to detach from what is familiar and comfortable, Pope Leo said they must then "encounter" the other through selfless service and the sharing of life. This detachment, he said, creates the conditions for authentic encounter rather than control.

He emphasized that it is a priority that "neither in the pastoral sphere nor in the social and political spheres can good come from abuse of power."

He pointed to the example of missionaries, a role he held as an Augustinian in Peru, whose work must be rooted in service, dialogue and respect.

"The great missionaries bear witnesses to quiet, unobtrusive approaches, whose method is the sharing of life, selfless service, the renunciation of any calculated strategy, dialogue and respect," Pope Leo said.

Rather than seeking to "reconquer" increasingly secular societies, the pope said Catholics must approach as guests, not to impose, but to listen and accompany.

The Church’s mission, the pope said, is guided by the Holy Spirit, and the faithful must not try to control it but instead follow its lead, entering each culture with humility and "respecting the mystery that every person and every community carries within them."

In his third point, the pope explained that this mission is not a "heroic adventure" reserved only for a few, but rather the "living witness of a Body with many members," and every mission includes rejection and suffering. 

He recalled that the people of Nazareth were filled with rage when they heard Jesus' words and drove him out of the town. Every Christian must "pass through" a trial just as Jesus did, the pope said.

"The cross is part of the mission: the sending becomes more bitter and frightening, but also more freeing and transformative," he said.

Throughout life, Pope Leo said the faithful may be called to experience many "resurrections," as they immerse themselves in service. He pointed to the hope of many witnesses, one of whom "is particularly dear to me."

That witness is St. Óscar Romero of San Salvador, El Salvador, who wrote a month before his assassination that Jesus helped martyrs and if the need arose, "I entrust my last breath to him." 

"But, more than the final moment of life, what matters is to give him one’s whole life and to live for him," he wrote. 

He continued, saying that "despite my sins, I have placed my trust in him and I shall not be disheartened." St. Romero, remembered as a martyr for defending the poor and speaking out against injustice, was canonized by Pope Francis in 2018.

A successful mission is not about the results, but rather about the disciple's faithfulness and hope in God. Jesus embarked on a journey "in a world torn apart by the powers that ravage it," Pope Leo said.

"Within it arises a new people, not of victims, but of witnesses," he said.

Pope Leo is expected to wash the feet of 12 priests and celebrate Mass Thursday evening, commemorating Jesus' institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. 

WASHINGTON - “During this holiest of weeks, let us continue to pray ardently for mutually respectful and effective dialogue that leads to a cease-fire and a negotiated end to the conflict with Iran,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. On Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week when Christians commemorate Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, Pope Leo XIV said, “Just as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, we cannot forget those who today are truly sharing in his suffering.”

Archbishop Coakley expressed support for the Administration’s indication that war with Iran may end soon, and emphasized the renewed call made by the Holy Father for peace, saying:

“The longer the conflict with Iran continues, including the risk of deploying ground troops to the region, the greater the risk of a dramatic escalation risking an ever-greater regional conflict. I welcome the Administration’s indications that the war with Iran may soon be coming to an end. And I join our Holy Father’s urgent calls for the Administration and all parties involved to take decisive action toward an immediate ceasefire, and for effective dialogue to resolve this dangerous impasse.

“Pope Leo XIV made clear: ‘Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.’  

“Emboldened by Easter’s powerful, transformative grace, I urge the faithful to continue praying ardently for mutual respectful and effective dialogue, and that we Christians be true to our vocation as peacemakers, the ‘light of the world’ and the ‘salt of the earth’ (Matthew 5:13-14).”

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WASHINGTON – “The abortion pill represents an isolating and harmful response to women in need,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. On Wednesday, Bishop Thomas wrote a letter to Congress in support of the “Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act,” which was recently introduced by Senator Josh Hawley and Representative Diana Harshbarger. The bill (S.4066/H.R.7902) would withdraw the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone for abortions.

In his letter, Bishop Thomas stated that the bill would likely save lives by curtailing the incidence of chemical abortion itself as well as its associated risks to the mothers. He emphasized the bishops’ opposition to the chemical abortion drug not only for its purpose of terminating life, but that the abortion pill represents an isolating and harmful response to women in need.

Read Bishop Thomas’ letter here.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Laypeople are not passive members but active participants in the Church's mission, called to live and spread the Gospel in everyday life, Pope Leo XIV said.

Continuing his series on the documents of the Second Vatican Council during his weekly general audience, the pope emphasized that all the baptized, not just the clergy, are missionary disciples of Christ.

"For this reason, lay men and women are particularly called to carry Christ’s presence to all  spheres of life and so transform them from within by bearing witness to the beauty of a life in Christ and the elevating power of his grace," he said April 1 in his address to English-speakers. 

Pope Leo delved into the Dogmatic Constitution "Lumen Gentium," saying that Vatican II shed light on the dignity of laypeople, after centuries of being defined as "simply as those who are not part of the clergy or the consecrated life."

"Before any distinction of ministry or state of life, the council affirms the equality of all the baptized," the pope said.

He said the People of God is not a “formless mass,” but the body of Christ, uniting clergy and laity. By being baptized, the laypeople "participate in the very priesthood of Christ," he said.

The pope also referenced St. John Paul II and Pope Francis, highlighting their emphasis on the active role of laypeople in the Church’s mission.

He went on to say that the responsibility of laypeople is not confined to the Church, but rather includes the whole world. He said the world must be permeated by the spirit of Christ — something made possible through the “contribution, service and witness” of laypeople.

"Indeed, the Church is present wherever her children profess and bear witness to the Gospel: in the workplace, in civil society and in all human relationships, wherever they, through their choices, show the beauty of Christian life, which foretells here and now the justice and peace that will be accomplished in the Kingdom of God," he said. 

In his address to Arabic-speakers, the pope continued his calls for prayers for innocent victims of war, following weeks of condemning the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV used his first Palm Sunday Mass to issue a forceful plea for peace, urging an end to war as he reflected on Christ’s Passion.

During his homily opening Holy Week at St. Peter's Square, the pope said the faithful must follow Jesus, as he embraced humanity "even as others raise swords and clubs." 

"We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war looms around him," he said March 29. "He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence." 

Pope Leo continued, recounting Jesus' final words to God, saying that in that moment we can see a "crucified humanity." 

"Above all, we hear the painful groans of all those who are oppressed by violence and are victims of war," he said. "Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!"

In his appeal at the close of the Mass, he went on further to press for peace, especially in the Middle East. He called on prayers for Christians in the Middle East, whose "ordeal challenges all our consciences," as the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran enters its fifth week.

"Just as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, we cannot forget those who today are truly sharing in his suffering," he said. "Let us raise our prayer to the Prince of Peace that he may sustain the peoples wounded by war and open concrete paths to reconciliation and peace."

On a sunny and windy day, thousands attended the Mass, which began with a solemn procession of hundreds of people carrying green palm branches, followed by about 60 cardinals and bishops, carrying "palmurelli," pale green palm branches that were woven and braided.

In the center of the square, the procession circled the ancient obelisk, brought to Rome by Emperor Caligula in 37 AD and later erected in St. Peter’s Square, traditionally marking the site of early Christian martyrdom, including that of St. Peter. 

Dressed in red vestments, the color of the Passion, Pope Leo followed, opening Mass underneath the obelisk. After the opening prayer and hymns, the procession made its way through the crowd to the altar in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Palm Sunday marks the solemn beginning of Holy Week, commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and leading to his passion, death and resurrection. The liturgy includes the reading of Christ’s suffering and crucifixion, setting the tone for the days leading to Easter.

In closing, the pope ended his Palm Sunday homily recalling the words of the late Bishop Tonino Bello, who was known as a pacifist and social justice advocate. 

"'And grant, finally, that the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun,'" the pope said. 

Bishop Bello died in 1993, and Pope Francis recognized him as venerable as his sainthood cause was advanced in 2021. 

MONACO (CNS) -- Built behind fortresses and perched on precipitous rock, the tiny principality of Monaco has survived centuries of invasions, revolutions and world wars, but now this prestigious Mediterranean haven must reach out and share its faith and its riches, Pope Leo XIV said.

"You are among the few countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as a state religion," he said at the start of his one-day visit March 28 to the world's second smallest independent state, almost five times larger than Vatican City.

Jesus calls Christians to become "a kingdom of brothers and sisters -- a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity," he said from a small window of the Prince's Palace to the hundreds of residents and visitors gathered in the huge square below. 

For his first apostolic journey of 2026, Pope Leo chose Monaco -- a glitzy, glamorous resort on the French Riviera famous for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo Casino. With stringent rules for residency, it is home to millionaires, and it has the highest nominal GDP per capita in the world.

Scheduled during Lent and almost three weeks before an intense trip to Africa, the pope's 10-hour trip to this center of luxury reflected a journey calling for purification and conversion.

With two speeches and two homilies spoken in fluent French, Pope Leo's strongest words came at the end, during Mass in the Louis II Stadium.

Reflecting on the day's Gospel reading of the decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus after he brought Lazarus back to life, Pope Leo noted how even today so many "plots are devised" and justified around the world "to kill the innocent."

But just as Jesus gave Lazarus new life, God, too, can rescue dead, deceived or hardened hearts with his mercy, he said. 

Power becomes dominion or wealth becomes greed or beauty becomes vanity, he said, when people "gorge themselves" and become enslaved to "the great and wonderful things of this earth," leaving their neighbor "in misery and sorrow."

The wars staining the earth with blood are "the fruit of the idolatry of power and money," the pope said; peace requires a purified heart and the ability to see "others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated."

"In the world's prolonged Lent, when evil rages and idolatry makes hearts indifferent, the Lord prepares his Easter," he said. The Risen Christ welcomes the sinner and sustains their pilgrimage and the Church's mission "to give God's life" by giving "our lives to our neighbor."

While the small nation has just under 40,000 residents, another 57,000 people commute daily from France and Italy to work there. Both residents and workers come from more than 150 countries.

Archbishop Dominique-Marie David of Monaco said the church pew is a kind of equalizer where "a millionaire and a maid can be sitting side by side."

"One of the rarest places of authentic social mingling in the principality is in the Christian community," he wrote in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, March 27.

Pope Leo encouraged the faithful to guard against religious practices becoming a mere habit. 

An authentic, "living" faith truly defends all people, protects life at all stages, and it makes sure the "current economic and social model" is equitable, just and marked by solidarity, he told them during a gathering in the immense stone Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception -- the final resting place of Philadelphia-born Princess Grace Kelly and her husband, Prince Rainier III.

The city's narrow, cliff-hugging streets did not hold many sightseers, but the four locations the pope visited were full of enthusiastic, but not raucous, crowds.

He shook hands with scores of young people and catechumens in front of the Church of Sainte Dévote, which honors a young woman martyred in 304 and the patron saint of Monaco. The archdiocese had about 70 catechumens preparing for baptism, first Communion and confirmation this year.

Pope Leo encouraged them to "give everything -- your time, your energy -- to God and to your brothers and sisters." It is only through this complete self-giving, he said, that one finds real joy and meaning in life. 

"The world needs your witness to overcome the errors of our time, face its challenges and, above all, to rediscover the sweet taste of loving God and neighbor," he said. 

"Monaco is a small country, but it can be a great place of solidarity and a beacon of hope," he said. "Incorporate the Gospel into the choices you make at work and in your social and political commitments in order to give a voice to the voiceless, thereby spreading a culture of care."

He told them to look to St. Devota and St. Carlo Acutis, whom the pope canonized last September, for inspiration.

Love gives stability in a world "that seems to be in a hurry, eager for novelty, obsessed with unfettered fluidity," he said.

The world "is marked by an almost compulsive need for constant change, be it in fashions, appearances, relationships, ideas or even the dimensions of the person that are essential to their very identity," he said.

"We must clear the doorway of the heart" of fleeting, ephemeral things, he said, "so that the healthy, life-giving air of grace can return to refresh and revitalize its chambers, and so that the strong wind of the Holy Spirit can once again fill the 'sails' of our existence, propelling us towards true happiness."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Palm Sunday procession at the foot of an 85-foot-tall Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square recalls the martyrdom of many early Christians and the fast-thinking foresight of an Italian Renaissance sea captain.

Palm Sunday at the Vatican begins with a procession of young people carrying olive branches and large green palm fronds, followed by clergy holding tall, intricately woven palm leaves. The participants circle the base of the obelisk in the center of the square, while the pope blesses them with holy water.

Starting the ceremony in the center of the square recalls the martyrdom of the early Christians because the 2,000-year-old solid granite obelisk marks the center of a grand arena built in 37 AD by the Roman emperor Caligula. Later, emperors introduced the execution of Christians as a form of entertainment there and St. Peter was among those martyred in the arena. 

To mark the place where many early Christians shed their blood, in 1586 Pope Sixtus V ordered that the same obelisk Caligula brought to Rome from Egypt be erected in the square.

Because the obelisk weighs 327 tons, it took 900 men and 140 horses working 44 winches to move and hoist it into place. Given the difficult and delicate nature of the task, Pope Sixtus forbade onlookers from making any noise as the obelisk was being pulled upright; those who failed to comply would face the death penalty.

According to tradition, Captain Benedetto Bresca, an experienced northern Italian seafarer, was watching in the square that day, and he saw the hemp ropes supporting the obelisk giving way from the excessive strain. 

Defying the pope's orders for absolute silence, Bresca shouted out in his Ligurian dialect, "Aiga ae corde," that is, "water on the ropes" to make them shrink, become stronger and keep them from fraying and snapping. The workers did as they heard and the obelisk did not come crashing to the ground.

Though Bresca was arrested on the spot, Pope Sixtus immediately pardoned him and showed his gratitude by asking him what he would like to have as a reward.

According to legend, Bresca asked that he and his descendants be appointed the official supplier of the pope's palm fronds. His wish was granted and he was allowed to fly the papal naval flag on his boat as it entered the Tiber River when he shipped the palm leaves from the Ligurian coastal city of Sanremo to Rome.

The long tradition of delivering palm fronds from Sanremo to be woven in Rome by Camaldolese nuns ended in the 1970s.

With the help of a palm tree research group, a cooperative in Sanremo revived the tradition in 2003 by supplying "palmurelli," which are palm leaves braided and styled in intricate shapes and patterns, for the Palm Sunday procession.

Other groups in Italy help supply regular palm fronds and tens of thousands of small olive branches for the faithful gathered in the square.