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The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presides over the In Coena Domini Mass behind closed doors in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. He says that at a time marked by tensions that cannot be ignored, “we are here as within a womb of peace, while around us the world is torn apart, and we wish we could change all of this.”
As the US President threatens to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Ages”, American and Israeli forces step up attacks on the country, and Tehran says it will continue to fight back.
As violence continues unabated in Palestine and Israel, the Custos of the Holy Land stresses that “true strength lies in the gift of oneself, in the capacity to love until the end”.
At the heart of holy week preparations, the Church in Larantuka gathers for the Chrism Mass, renewing priestly vows and strengthening unity in mission and hope.
Pope Leo XIV will receive French President Emmanuel Macron in the Vatican on April 10, confirms the Director of the Holy See Press Office.
Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for Clergy, pens a letter to all priests, deacons, and seminarians throughout the world for Holy Thursday, thanking them for bringing Christ close to His people through their ministry.
At the Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV invites priests, bishops, and all Christians to embrace their challenges with trust in God and “spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns.”
Speaking on an Italian Franciscan podcast, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin discusses the “worrying” global scenario, but emphasizes that there are still “signs of hope," particularly in the Christian faith and its emphasis on fraternity.
In an interview with Vatican News, the vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem calls for continued attention to Gaza and the West Bank as “two million people are still suffering.”
Father Francesco Patton, author of the meditations for the Pope's Good Friday 'Via Crucis' at the Colosseum in Rome, notes that even today, many people are living a Way of the Cross.
During the Mass "in Coena Domini" on Holy Thursday, Pope Leo will wash the feet of twelve priests - eleven of whom he ordained last year.
During Chrism Mass at the Holy Name Cathedral, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, reflects on mission, war, and the quiet language of the holy oils, urging the Church to reject violence and bear witness to peace that transforms hearts rather than dominates them.