Catholic News
- Conversions surge in France (Pillar)
21,386 converts to Catholicism are expected to be baptized in France this Easter—up from 5,825 in 2022, 8,416 in 2023, 12,340 in 2024, and 17,788 in 2025. Of the 21,386 converts, 13,234 are adults, and 8,152 are adolescents. Among the adults, 42% are between the ages of 18 and 25, and 40% are between 26 and 40. 62% of the adult converts are women, and 71% of adult converts live in urban areas. - Cardinal Woelki warns against Communion services, calls on priests to celebrate Mass daily (National Catholic Register)
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, Germany, warned priests not to replace Sunday Masses with Communion services and called upon priests to celebrate Mass daily. “I am concerned that Communion services—often with the distribution of holy Communion—are increasingly replacing the celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays,” Cardinal Woelki preached at the archdiocesan Chrism Mass. “That, dear brothers, is no longer Catholic, and I urgently ask you to counteract this from the outset!” - Cuba pardons 2,010 prisoners for Holy Week (Vatican News)
In what it described as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture” within “the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week,” Cuba’s Communist regime pardoned 2,010 prisoners. The government did not release a list of the pardoned prisoners, Vatican News reported. - Bishop Barron, Cardinal Dolan to speak at presidential event rededicating US to God (EWTN News)
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, is among the speakers at Rededicate 250, a May 17 event at the National Mall at which the nation will be rededicated to God. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will also speak at the event. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the retired archbishop of New York, will offer a video address. - Church desecrated in French small town (OIDAC Europe)
A church in the small town of Chèvremont in northeastern France was recently desecrated. “The tabernacle had been forced open, consecrated hosts were scattered across the floor, and ciboriums and chalices were taken from the sacristy,” the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe reported. “Similar break-ins occurred in Meroux and Bourguignon, where church doors were forced [open] and liturgical objects stolen.” - Syro-Malabar apostolic visitor discusses mandate, challenges (Fides)
In an article for Agenzia Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Father Jolly Vadakken discussed his mandate as apostolic visitor to Syro-Malabar Catholics in the nations of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the challenges that the faithful of the Eastern Catholic church face there. 10% of Catholics in Kuwait, 10% of Catholics in Qatar, and 25% of Catholics in Bahrain—largely migrant workers and their families—are members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (CNEWA profile), based in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. - Vittorio Messori, who interviewed St. John Paul and Cardinal Ratzinger, dies at 84 (CWN)
Vittorio Messori, a journalist whose interview questions led to the publication of The Ratzinger Report (1985) and Pope St. John Paul II’s Crossing the Threshold of Hope (1994), died on April 3 at the age of 84. - Israeli president, Pope Leo discuss Iran war (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV discussed the need for diplomacy and the protection of civilians during a telephone conversation this morning with President Isaac Herzog of Israel. - On Good Friday, only 10 Franciscan friars traverse Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem (Vatican News)
Amid wartime restrictions reminiscent of the COVID lockdowns, only ten Franciscan friars were able to gather to pray the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem on Good Friday. Father Ibrahim Faltas, O.F.M., head of schools of the Custody (Franciscan province) of the Holy Land, wrote that “since February 28, it has not been possible to fully live the poignant liturgical season of Lent due to the war that has spread throughout the Middle East, affecting even Jerusalem ... On the journey that will lead us to Holy Easter 2026, we have encountered violence, death, and sorrow for the suffering of so many brothers and sisters who have been denied so many rights, who have been denied love.” “Jerusalem experienced Good Friday in a climate marked by war and the resulting restrictions,” Father Alberto Pari, O.F.M., of the Custody said in a statement. “The Holy City, which in these days should have welcomed thousands of faithful from all over the world, appeared silent and guarded. Yet, precisely within this fragility, the prayer of the Church continued to rise with strength, preserving the memory of the Passion of the Lord in the very place where it was accomplished.” - Pope presides at Good Friday liturgy in St. Peter's, Via Crucis at Colosseum (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV presided at the liturgical Celebration of the Passion of the Lord this afternoon in St. Peter’s Basilica before presiding at the Via Crucis at the Colosseum earlier tonight. - Churches in Dubai closed until further notice (Khaleej Times)
Heeding a government directive, Catholic, Orthodox, and other Christian churches in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, have closed their doors until further notice. At least one parish will be livestreaming its Masses and other services. The directive comes amid Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates. Hindu and Sikh houses of worship have also been closed. Islam is the official religion of the Middle Eastern nation of 10.1 million (map); 75% of its residents are Muslim, 13% are Christian (12% Catholic), 6% are Hindu, and 3% are Buddhist. - As Jesus washed our feet, let us serve others, Pope preaches at Holy Thursday evening Mass (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Lateran Basilica this evening (video) and reflected on Christ’s act of washing the feet of His apostles. - Pope Leo speaks with President Zelensky, expresses closeness to Ukrainian people (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine during a telephone call this morning with President Volodymyr Zelensky. - Archbishop Broglio: It's hard to believe Iran war is 'sponsored by the Lord' (CBS News)
In a television interview that will be broadcast on Easter Sunday, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, was asked to comment on “the rhetoric of say the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who openly invokes Jesus repeatedly when talking about the war with Iran ... What do you make of—of that sort of focus and—and sort of trying to cast this war as something that perhaps Jesus would justify?” Archbishop Broglio replied: It’s—it’s a little bit problematic in the sense that the Lord Jesus certainly brought a message of—a message of peace and—and also, I think war is always a last resort. Now, you know, they may have information that led them to think that that was the only choice they had. I’m not making a judgment about that because I really don’t know, but I do think that it’s hard to—to cast this war, you know, as—as—as something that would be sponsored by—by the Lord. Archbishop Broglio was also asked, “And so if you’re hearing from a service member who says, if your teachings, if your guidance is this is not justified, what am I to do as a Catholic who’s in the service?” He replied: Obviously, you know, the Marine who’s given an order, he’s not in a position really, to resist that order. I mean, he has to obey unless it’s, it’s—unless it’s clearly immoral. And then he would probably have to speak to his, you know, to his chaplain, to his chain of command. The question might be, would, you know would—would—would generals or admirals have space to perhaps say, can we look at this a different way? But having spoken to some of them too, they’re—they’re also in the same—in the same dilemma. So I guess my counsel would be to do as little harm as you—as you can, and to try and preserve innocent lives. - Archbishop Coakley calls for ardent prayer for end of Iran war (USCCB)
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called on the faithful to “pray ardently for mutually respectful and effective dialogue that leads to a cease-fire and a negotiated end to the conflict with Iran.” “The longer the conflict with Iran continues, including the risk of deploying ground troops to the region, the greater the risk of a dramatic escalation risking an ever-greater regional conflict,” Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City said on April 1, as he joined “our Holy Father’s urgent calls for the Administration and all parties involved to take decisive action toward an immediate ceasefire, and for effective dialogue to resolve this dangerous impasse.” - Cardinal Pizzaballa celebrates Holy Thursday Mass in Church of Holy Sepulchre, days after he was denied entry (CWN)
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrated the Holy Thursday evening Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (video), four days after Israeli police denied him access to the church on Palm Sunday. - Citing security concerns, Nigerian bishops reschedule Easter Vigil Masses (Fides)
Citing security concerns, bishops in several Nigerian dioceses have directed that Easter Vigil Masses be celebrated at an earlier time than the typical nightfall. Bishop Jude Arogundade of Ondo, for example, directed that all Easter Vigil Masses in his diocese begin at 5:00 PM on Holy Saturday. - Pope, in video, prays for priests in crisis (The Pope Video)
In a video associated with his prayer intention for April, Pope Leo XIV prayed for priests in crisis. Pope Leo began, “Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd and companion on the journey, today we place in your hands all priests, especially those going through moments of crisis, when loneliness weighs heavily, when doubt clouds their hearts, and when exhaustion seems stronger than hope.” - Vatican issues Holy Thursday message to priests, deacons, and seminarians (Dicastery for the Clergy)
The prefect and secretary of the Dicastery for the Clergy issued a message to priests, deacons, and seminarians for Holy Thursday. Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik and Archbishop Carlo Redaelli began by thanking priests: First of all, we wish to say to you: thank you! Thank you for your daily fidelity, often silent and hidden. Thank you for your “yes,” renewed each day, even amid hardships, loneliness and misunderstandings. Thank you because, through your ministry, Christ continues to draw near to His people, to heal, to forgive and to nourish them. The prelates then reflected on sacrifice and service. “Sacrifice, in its deepest truth, is not first of all renunciation, but gift: it is offering one’s life so that it may be wholly oriented to the love of God and of our brothers and sisters,” they wrote. “We are called to live as men given over, consecrated, who find in the Eucharist the source and summit of our existence. It is at the altar that we allow ourselves to be conformed to Christ, receiving the strength to accompany, to forgive and to console.” - French President Macron to meet with Pontiff (Vatican News)
The director of the Holy See Press Office confirmed a French government announcement that Pope Leo XIV will receive President Emmanuel Macron at the Vatican on April 10. President Macron met six times with Pope Francis: three times at the Vatican, and three times in other locations. The April 10 meeting will be his first with Pope Leo, as then-Prime Minister François Bayrou represented France at the Pope’s inaugural Mass. - More...