Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive at Santa María la Antigua Field in Panama this evening for the Way of the Cross, a popular and prayerful event organized for every World Youth Day. This commemoration of Christ's Passion will be a little different from the traditional set of 14 stations that we are used to seeing in our churches. Although we normally see specific stations set in a certain order, the truth is that, as a popular devotion, there is no officially established way of praying this meditation, and even the traditional sequence only first appeared in the 18th century. Read more about the history of this devotion here. The Way of the Cross for WYD Panama 2019 will follow a sequence known as the Scriptural Way of the Cross, which was designed by Saint John Paul II. Each station is based on a specific episode from the Gospel accounts of Jesus' final days. Join us for our LIVE broadcast of this special event, starting at 5:00 pm with a live pre-show hosted by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, and Emilie Callan, who will also provide live commentary throughout the event.

If you want to follow along, you can download the complete booklet here.

Follow all of our WYD coverage at wydcentral.org