Jesus came to the world not just to teach, but to radically change human hearts that have hardened from sin, the preacher of the papal household has said during a service commemorating Christ's death on the Cross.
"A heart of stone is a heart that is closed to God's will and to the suffering of brothers and sisters," but God, through the Son, offers the world "a heart of flesh", Capuchin Fr Raniero Cantalamessa said in the homily.
Pope Francis presided over the Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord's Passion in St Peter's Basilica, which began with a silent procession down the central nave under dim lighting to emphasise the solemnity of the ceremony.
