Pope Francis: Be a Simon of Cyrene in today’s world of suffering

As Holy Week began with Palm Sunday, Pope Francis urged the faithful to walk with Jesus by embracing the crosses of the suffering, like Simon of Cyrene.

Due to health reasons, the homily was delivered on the pope’s behalf by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri at a packed St. Peter’s Square on April 13. The celebration marked the beginning of the most solemn week in the Christian calendar, commemorating Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.

Reflecting on the Gospel, Pope Francis centered his message on the figure of Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried Jesus’ cross after being forced by Roman soldiers. 

Though a bystander, Simon found himself swept into the heart of salvation history — a symbol, the pope said, of those who, knowingly or not, take part in God’s redemptive plan.

“Simon’s actions were ambivalent,” the pope said in the homily. “He did not help Jesus out of conviction, but out of coercion. And yet, through that experience, Jesus’ cross became Simon’s cross.”

Pope Francis drew a stark contrast between Simon Peter, who promised to follow Jesus even to prison and death but later denied Him, and Simon of Cyrene, who silently carried the burden.

“Simon of Galilee spoke but did not act. Simon of Cyrene acts but does not speak,” he noted.

Without a single word exchanged between them, the two were bound by the heavy wood of the cross. 

“We do not know what went on in Simon’s heart,” the pope reflected. “But we are invited to see ourselves in him — to ask what we feel when we are unexpectedly called to carry another’s burden.”

The Holy Father urged Christians to recognize the many modern-day Simons of Cyrene — people bearing the cross of war, poverty, injustice, and exclusion.

“Can we see the Lord in their faces, marred by the burden of war and deprivation?” he asked.

He emphasized that Jesus’ passion becomes compassion whenever people extend a hand to those in despair, lift up the fallen, or offer hope to the discouraged. 

“In order to experience this great miracle of mercy,” the pope said, “let us decide how we are meant to carry our own cross this Holy Week — not only on our shoulders, but in our hearts.”

Pope Francis invited all to follow Simon’s example by embracing the pain of others with love. “Let us become each of us, for one another, a Simon of Cyrene.”