Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap. Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem "We are at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, we are in the Muslim quarter of today's Jerusalem. This is the place where the Antonia fortress once stood, erected by Herod to monitor everything that happened on the then Temple Esplanade. From this place, Jesus took the first steps of his Way of the Cross". We continue our journey of discovery of the Gospel figures who met Jesus during the days of His passion. Friar Enrico Maiorano guides us to get to know Pontius Pilate. Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap. Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem "Today in this place we find the Church of the Flagellation and the Chapel of Condemnation. It is the place that tradition - from the Crusader period - identifies as the 'Praetorium of Pilate', that is, the place where Jesus was interrogated, scourged and sentenced to death". Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap. Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem "This is the only time Pilate and Jesus meet. But who was Pilate? He was the procurator who on behalf of Rome, for about 10 years - from 26 to 36 AD - was in charge of administering the problematic province of Judea. Pilate was a man without scruples: he used the Temple's treasure for his building works, quelled riots in blood and had no concern for the religious sensibilities of the people. Yet John's Gospel, when it speaks of this episode, shows us Pilate continually going in and out of the praetorium, seeming to go into crisis and, for no apparent reason, seeming to want to free Jesus. But in the end he gives in to the pressure of the crowd and condemns him to death." Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap. Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem "Matthew's Gospel tells us about the famous gesture of Pilate washing his hands. It is a gesture that the Jews knew well because it is the sign of one who recognizes before God his innocence. From this moment, Pilate becomes the symbol of those who seek low-cost solutions." Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap. Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem "Pilate only met Jesus for a few moments, but these few moments were fundamental to his life, so much so that they totally upset him. The Coptic Orthodox Church venerates Pilate and his wife as saints. According to this tradition, Pilate would have returned to Rome and there at the point of death he would have converted to Christianity, and for this he was executed by the Senate". Br ENRICO MAIORANO, ofm cap. Student Biblical Sciences and Archaeology - Jerusalem "Be that as it may, Pilate remains the Roman procurator of a turbulent province on the edge of the empire and would have fallen into the oblivion of history were it not for the fact that he met Jesus and actively participated, despite himself, in the condemnation of Jesus." We begin the Via Dolorosa. On the next leg of our journey we will stop at the fifth station, where Simon of Cyrene ran into Jesus.