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

Life must be lived as a journey seeking to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, Pope Leo XIV said after completing the Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum.

Pope Leo XIV spoke over the telephone with the presidents of Israel and Ukraine on Good Friday, urging diplomatic solutions and humanitarian support amid the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Europe.

Andrea, 24, and her husband, Wyatt, 25, spoke with OSV News about little Catherine’s incredible recovery in 2025 after a priest placed a eucharistic host on her. The priest involved also spoke with OSV News. The Artz family — a Catholic family of six located in Gann Valley in central South Dakota — said their third daughter spent 107 days in the hospital before they could bring her home.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York welcomed the mobile People of Hope Museum March 26, near Union Square in Manhattan. The tractor-trailer-sized traveling museum will tour under the sponsorship of Catholic Charities USA.

Pope Leo XIV washed and kissed the feet of 12 priests on Holy Thursday in his first Easter Triduum liturgy as pope, saying that Jesus taught us how to love like he loves during the Last Supper.

From solemn processions in Spain to dramatic reenactments of Christ’s passion in an El Salvadoran prison yard, Catholics around the world commemorate Holy Week with traditions molded by their history, culture and faith.

Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to reject comfort, power and domination and instead embrace a mission rooted in self-giving love, even when it requires risk, vulnerability and suffering.

Amid polls showing most Americans disapprove of U.S. military action in Iran, President Donald Trump said in an April 1 address to the nation, “we are going to finish the job. And we’re going to finish it very fast.”

Catholics during Holy Week should continue to “pray ardently” for a de-escalation of violence in the Middle East, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement April 1.