International News

For the past 17 years Alessandro de Franciscis has headed the Office of Medical Observations at the Lourdes Sanctuary in France. As he retired on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on Feb. 11, the entire congregation burst into applause at Mass for the feast day.

Pope Leo XIV sent Easter greetings to Catholics in Gaza as they celebrate Easter amid the fear and uncertainty of war, said Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish.

Holy Week in the Holy Land is unfolding in unprecedented silence, as war-related restrictions have left sacred sites largely without the faithful.

As Barcelona prepares for the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death in 2026, renewed attention is focusing not only on the famed Spanish architect’s genius but also on the deep Catholic faith that shaped his life and work.

While the religiously unaffiliated are on the rise globally, something curious is also happening: Some American dioceses are reporting significant upticks in adults preparing to enter the Catholic Church this Easter.

An agreement has been reached with Israeli authorities to allow Holy Week and Easter celebrations to take place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, the custos of the Holy Land, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Israeli police on Palm Sunday.

Pope Leo XIV has assured Archbishop Sarah Mullally, the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the first female to lead the Church of England, of his prayers and invoked "grace, mercy, and peace … in truth and love."

Over 20,000 catechumens in France are expected to be baptized during the Easter Vigil, marking a 20% increase compared to baptisms in 2025.

A Belgian Catholic bishop said he “will make every effort to ordain married men as priests” and expressed his commitment to doing so by 2028.