Postcards: The blessing of rain dampens Holy Week in drought-stricken Spain
BERNAT ARMANGUE, of Associated Press, reports from Spain on the impact much-needed rain had on Easter celebrations…
Pope appears in better health ahead of busy Easter schedule
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis, whose frail health has been a growing source of concern in recent weeks, appeared in better shape on Wednesday ahead of a busy Easter week schedule. The 87-year-old pontiff read out in full pre-prepared texts for his weekly audience, rather than delegating an aide to read most of them, as […]
Faith guides Catholic pilgrims to historic New Mexico sites
United StatesAP Thousands of Catholics are making the trek to a historic adobe church in the hills of northern New Mexico as part of a Holy Week tradition that spans generations, carrying heavy wooden crosses and praying as they make their way through the high desert landscape. El Santuario de Chimayó just north of Santa […]
Joyous Holy Week celebrations around the world
AP From dressing as Roman soldiers in Antigua, Guatemala, to carrying palm fronds on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week. Christians pause along the Via Dolorosa, a route that is believed to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion, on Good Friday in the Old City of […]
Essay: Holy Week starts off with lots of palms – but Palm Sunday’s donkey is just as important to the story
Churches around the world have just observed Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. JOANNE M PIERCE, professor emerita of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross in the US, says the “deeper meaning” of the day is rooted in humility, rather than worldly veneration…
Updated: Christians mark Good Friday, Holy Week under virus woes
Updated 10.30am, 3rd April, 2021 (AEDT)Jerusalem, IsraelAP Christians in the Holy Land marked Good Friday without the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the days leading up to Easter because of the coronavirus, and worshippers in many other predominantly Christian countries where the virus is still raging observed their second annual Holy Week with tight restrictions […]
Sight-Seeing: Despair and hope in Holy Week
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, reflects on the “bad news” of Holy Week – and the ultimate hope we have in Christ…
Pope opens Holy Week amid pandemic; says now is the time to serve
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis marked a surreal Palm Sunday in an empty St Peter’s Basilica, urging people living through the coronavirus pandemic not to be so concerned with what they lack but how they can ease the suffering of others. The service, kicking off Holy Week events leading to Easter, usually attracts tens of thousands […]