A quick history of Mardi Gras February 14, 2026By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, World News In times of greater Lenten austerity in Catholic countries, Mardi Gras offered an opportunity for households to consume some foods they would not enjoy until Easter.
Pope Leo XIV explains why Catholics fast during Lent February 13, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, Vatican, World News The ancient practice of fasting from food during Lent can free us from complacency and lead us to “hunger” for God, Pope Leo XIV said in his 2026 Lenten message.
All sin is personal but all sin is social February 8, 2026By Kenneth Craycraft Filed Under: Commentary, Lent All sin is social sin because all sin implicates all persons in a given community. This season of Lent is the time for Catholic Christians to demonstrate to the world that reconciliation can only come through repentance — not of the “nation’s” sins, but of our own.
As Lent approaches, Catholics urged to leave ‘hesitation at the door’ and visit Holy Land February 8, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Lent, News, World News Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, urged pilgrims to return not only as an opportunity to be where Christ was, but also as a sign of solidarity with Christians in the area whose livelihoods depend on pilgrims.
Speaker and musician Nick De La Torre to lead pre-Lenten mission in Frederick County February 3, 2026By Katie V. Jones Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Lent, Local News, News, Western Vicariate With the theme “Eucharistic Revival,” a two-day pre-Lenten mission at St. John the Evangelist in Frederick will focus on the meaning of the Eucharist and the role it plays in the spiritual life of Catholics as they prepare for Lent.
Changing the world demands changing direction, pope writes for Way of Cross April 19, 2025By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, Vatican, World News Today’s “builders of Babel” are constructing a hell on earth, rejecting everyone they decide are “losers,” Pope Francis wrote in the meditations for the Way of the Cross.
Love, not power saves the world, papal preacher says at service with Vance April 18, 2025By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, Vatican, World News Jesus, who redeemed humanity by giving up his life on the cross, shows that it is not strength that saves the world, but the “weakness” of boundless love, the papal preacher told thousands of people gathered for the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Ahead of Holy Thursday, Irish priest forgives radicalized teenager who stabbed him April 16, 2025By Sarah Mac Donald OSV News Filed Under: Lent, News, World News In a powerful courtroom moment just before Holy Week, Irish Army chaplain Father Paul Murphy forgave the radicalized teenager who tried to kill him in a 2024 knife attack.
The story of the melted bunnies April 15, 2025By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Lent, Open Window Weeks and weeks ago, I was walking down the seasonal aisle at the grocery store when I stopped to look at the Easter candy. I spotted chocolate bunnies who were posed as if they were taking selfies. I thought of my niece in college several states to the north. I knew she would be amused. […]
What are the 14 traditional Stations of the Cross? April 15, 2025By D.D. Emmons OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Lent Unlike the followers of Christ on that Good Friday, we know that the 14th station is not the end, that death does not win; rather, in his sacrifice, we find the sure knowledge of eternal life.
Papal preacher: Faith in Resurrection means not clinging to the past April 11, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Lent, News, Vatican, World News The temptation to cling to the past — to hold on to what was, including something sacred — can keep believers from truly embracing the hope offered by the risen Christ, said the preacher of the papal household.
Passion play in Poland’s ‘Valley of Death’ reminder of dark past, invincible Christian hope April 10, 2025By Filip Mazurczak OSV News Filed Under: Lent, News, World News In Bydgoszcz, Poland, a powerful Passion play performed on Palm Sunday is bringing new life to one of World War II’s darkest chapters.