Italy: Several thousand Roma walk the stations of the cross in Rome

On the night of Saturday 24 October those attending the International Pilgrimage of Gypsies walked the stations of the cross. At each of the 14 stations a different person from a different country was asked to speak.

"The stations of the cross are supposed to aid us in perceiving the suffering of Jesus, which also encompasses our suffering. Along the stations of the cross that we walked near the Colosseum the Lord Jesus was condemned each time he stopped. Each Rom is also condemned and falls down... but there is also hope," said Father Viktor, who traveled with a group from Slovakia to the meeting with the Pope.

The pilgrimage culminated at noon yesterday with Pope Francis receiving more than 5 000 Romani people from the Americas, Asia and Europe at the Vatican. The reception commemorated the 50th anniversary of the visit paid by Pope Paul VI to Romani people in Pomezia, Italy in 1956.

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