As a statue of Jesus bearing his cross is carried through the streets of Sonsonate, El Salvador, on Good Friday, Pope Francis asked Catholics to respond to Jesus’ love with contemplation and a renewal of their love for God and for their needy neighbors.

Presiding over the chrism Mass March 28 in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis ended his lengthy homily by thanking the priests present and, by extension, those around the world.

Secular doctors often turn to artificial reproductive technology, while Catholics OB-GYNS who are trained to seek out the root cause of infertility are few and far between.

The pews may be a bit more crowded at Mass this Easter — but on balance, regular church attendance in the U.S. continues to decline across the board, particularly among Catholics.

Russian occupation forces in Ukraine continue to crack down on Catholics, with one militant group sealing off Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Of the thousands of people packed into the Paul VI Audience Hall for Pope Francis’ weekly general audience, two visitors received special praise from the pope for their unlikely friendship.

In its first detailed analysis of the Vatican’s pre-Christmas declaration “Fiducia Supplicans,” Russia’s Orthodox Church has accused Pope Francis of “rejecting the Christian moral ideal” by allowing the blessing of same-sex couples.

Contemplating Christ’s passion should inspire Christians to be more patient in the face of their own suffering and trials, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis told Catholics in the Holy Land that he knows Holy Week this year is “so overshadowed by the Passion and, as yet, so little by the Resurrection.”

For the first time in his 11-year papacy, Pope Francis has chosen to write his own meditations for the Good Friday Way of the Cross service at Rome’s Colosseum, the head of the Vatican press office said.