From Foreheads to Crowns: How Ash Wednesday looks different worldwide February 17, 2026By Josephine Peterson Catholic News Service Filed Under: Lent, News, World News, Worship & Sacraments Catholics going to Mass on Ash Wednesday will leave church marked, but whether the ashes appear as a bold cross on the forehead or sprinkled atop the head depends largely on where in the world they worship.
Commission issues ‘painful’ abuse report on Polish diocese, a first in the crisis-hit nation February 17, 2026By Katarzyna Szalajko OSV News Filed Under: Child & Youth Protection, News, World News A newly released clerical sexual abuse report in Poland’s Diocese of Sosnowiec is being described by investigators as a necessary step toward accountability, while Church leaders call it a painful but essential moment in rebuilding trust after years of scandals.
‘Remember you are dust’: Why people fill the pew on Ash Wednesday February 17, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, World News, Worship & Sacraments Why do so many people make an extra effort to get to church on Ash Wednesday — the first of Lent’s 40 days — when it is not a holy day of obligation, and they are not required to receive ashes?
Data on sweeping immigrant detentions underscores U.S. bishops’ concerns, says policy expert February 17, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Bishops, Immigration and Migration, News, World News Data showing most individuals in immigration detention do not have violent criminal records highlights ongoing concerns expressed by the nation’s Catholic bishops over the Trump administration immigration crackdown, said an official with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
U.S.-led Board of Peace a ‘colonialist operation,’ Cardinal Pizzaballa says February 17, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, Vatican, World News Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, strongly criticized the U.S.-led Board of Peace, an international body chaired by President Donald Trump to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza.
Students from L.A.-area Catholic school get surprise meeting with pope after school vandalism February 17, 2026By Mike Cisneros OSV News Filed Under: News, Schools, Vatican, World News Msgr. Figueiredo was able to arrange for the group to receive an audience with Pope Leo and to have their school be named during the ceremony.
Ash Wednesday collection ‘gives hope’ to reborn Church in Central, Eastern Europe February 17, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Giving, News, World News Since 1991, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has held an annual Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, with funds supporting the Catholic Church in the former Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia — a total of 28 current nations.
Mount St. Joseph’s BJ Ranson selected as BCL Player of Year; league unveils new academic honors February 16, 2026By Gerry Jackson Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Sports Mount St. Joseph senior guard BJ Ranson, who led the Gaels to a 29-win regular season, earned the Baltimore Catholic League’s Jerry Savage Player of the Year Award for the 2025-26 season.
Latin Mass supporters say SSPX controversy has ‘thrown a hand grenade’ into TLM debate February 16, 2026By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: News, World News, Worship & Sacraments Supporters of the traditional Latin Mass have urged Catholics not to confuse their movement with the more controversial Society of St. Pius X, commonly referred to as SSPX, whose leaders currently risk excommunication by threatening to ordain their own bishops.
A true parish welcomes everyone, spreads respect, harmony, pope says February 16, 2026By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, News, Vatican, World News An authentic Christian community knows how to sincerely and joyfully welcome everyone: Catholics, non-Catholics and people of no faith at all, Pope Leo XIV said.
Radio Interview: Archbishop Lori’s pastoral letter: ‘In Charity and Truth’ February 16, 2026By Catholic Review Staff Catholic Review Filed Under: Archbishop's Ministry, CR Radio, Feature, Local News, News, Radio Interview In a new pastoral letter released Feb. 9, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore takes the occasion of the nation’s 250th anniversary to address “a moment of grace and responsibility.” Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with the archbishop about the motivation for the letter, which is subtitled, “Toward a Renewed Political Culture.”
Federal judge orders Catholic group be let into ICE facility on Ash Wednesday February 16, 2026By Simone Orendain Filed Under: Feature, Immigration and Migration, Lent, News, Religious Freedom, World News A federal district judge granted a preliminary injunction Feb. 12 that will allow clergy, religious and Catholic social justice advocates to enter a Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility west of Chicago on Ash Wednesday to provide ashes and holy Communion.
