Pope to cut down Easter schedule

The Vatican has modified the traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum because of Pope John Paul II's frail condition.

The Pope used to carry a wooden cross for the entire one-kilometre procession that commemorate's Christ's suffering on the way to crucifixion.

The Vatican said John Paul will follow most of the procession while kneeling and pick up the cross at the end. "He will be more comfortable," said papal spokesman Joaquin-Navarro-Valls.

The Pope has been cutting back his participation since undergoing hip-replacement surgery in 1994. Otherwise, the Pope intends to keep up a gruelling Holy Week schedule that began with an open-air Mass on Palm Sunday.

He will preside over a Holy Thursday service, a vigil service on Saturday night and an Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square on Sunday.