On Good Friday, papal preacher says Jesus died for everyone, none excluded

ROME – In a service Friday commemorating Jesus’s suffering and death on the cross, papal preacher Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa said his sacrifice was for everyone, no exception, and was illustrative of God’s true power, found not in might, but in loving sacrifice. Speaking during a March 28 Good Friday Passion service in St. Peter’s Basilica, […]

‘Viacrucis migrante’ caravan calls attention to plight of migrants during Holy Week

MEXICO CITY (OSV News) — One year after the Ciudad Juárez migrant detention center fire, a caravan of approximately 2,000 migrants called “Viacrucis migrante” set out from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula at the start of Holy Week. The reference to the crucifixion of Christ — reenactments of which are commonly called via crucis […]

Holy Land Patriarchs call for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Holy Land message

Christian leaders say they fully recognize the intense suffering that surrounds the Holy Land, as well as in many other parts of the world, as the faithful mark Holy Week. “[We] repeat our denunciation of all violent actions in the present devastating war, especially those directed at innocent civilians, and we reiterate our calls for […]

Tears flow as pope washes feet of women inmates at Rome prison

As Pope Francis poured water over their feet, dried them with a towel and kissed their feet, 12 women inmates at Rome’s Rebibbia prison wept. The pope celebrated the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper March 28 at the women’s prison under a tent set up outside. The 12 women whose feet were washed by […]

The Violent World of Jesus of Nazareth…

Jesus of Nazareth was born into a violent world. Much like ours, only different. At the time Jesus was born, Judea and Samaria and Galilee had been under the control of the Roman empire for about sixty years. King Herod the Great ruled over these regions as a “client king” of Rome—meaning that he answered […]