During Holy Week, Catholics are called to reflect on the Last Supper, when the apostles came together like a family to break bread with Jesus for the final time. It was from that simple meal, with bread at its centre, that Christ gave mankind the Eucharist.

VATICAN CITY - Joy is not a word people usually associate with strict fasting and penance — unless they are Eastern-rite Catholics.

JERUSALEM - Several pilgrim groups gathered in a sunny courtyard in Jerusalem’s Old City. They were preparing to follow a tradition reaching back at least to the fifth century: walking along the Via Dolorosa, through the cobbled streets of Jerusalem’s Old City.

MIAMI - Some of the Church’s most ancient traditions and rituals are witnessed during Holy Week, including the preparation, blessing and distribution of oils central to the Catholic Church’s sacraments and rites.

TORONTO - At St. John’s Bakery, the spiced, sweet scent of freshly baked hot cross buns fills the air. The bakery revives this popular tradition every year in anticipation of the joy of Jesus’ resurrection. But more than preparing an Easter treat, the hands that make the hot cross buns are symbols of hope and community.

The biblical accounts of Jesus’ passion and death focus very much on His trial, describing it in length and in detail.

Through the powerful Scripture readings of the Triduum, and especially the Gospels of the Easter Vigil and Easter morning, we catch glimpses of the profound meaning of the Paschal mystery. How can we give expression to the conquest of death and the harrowing of hell? We must honestly admit to ourselves that we have no words.

There should be no ifs, ands or buts. Christians are called to live like Christ.  

It’s been the winter of our discontent.

After a practically snow-free December and January, the Maritime provinces were relentlessly buffeted by snowfall after snowfall during February and March. 
Two and sometimes three storms in a week left Nova Scotians scratching their heads and cussing their fortunes.


TORONTO - Toronto Catholic students are bringing the story of Jesus Christ to life for their peers during Holy Week.

The drama of Holy Week is a story about a king. The crowd that welcomes Jesus on Sunday, waving their palm branches, acclaims Him: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,
the king of Israel!”

VATICAN CITY - The bishop of a southern Italian diocese has issued new directives aimed at keeping the mafia out of this year's Easter processions.

VATICAN CITY - From modern-day martyrs to those who quietly care for the sick or elderly, Pope Francis remembered all those who “sacrifice themselves daily,” following Jesus in serving others and giving witness to the Gospel.

Of all the places a Catholic can be during Holy Week, few can beat Rome. The bustling capital of Italy is awash with pilgrims that week, and last year, 21 classmates and I were among them.

When the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace launched its Share Lent “Sow Much Love” campaign, it didn’t know just how much love it might get. Thanks to its first-ever mobile phone app, it is getting a better idea.