St. Maria Goretti Parish

In a joint press release, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land report they were blocked from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Israeli police, calling it "a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure."

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Pope Leo XIV decries the fact that many Christians in the Middle East will be unable to celebrate Holy Week rites, urging everyone to remember the many people who share in Christ's suffering as the Church contemplates the Mystery of the Lord's Passion.

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Pope Leo XIV presides at Mass on Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, and reflects on Jesus as the King of Peace who rejects war and refuses to listen to the prayers of those who wage war.

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Pope Leo departed the Principality of Monaco at 17:30 this afternoon. Here are some highlights from a lightning, one-day trip to Europe's second-smallest country.

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New data from the Annuario Pontificio 2026 and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2024 highlight trends in baptized populations across the five continents, with a remarkable increase in the number of Catholics in Africa.

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During Mass in the Principality of Monaco, Pope Leo XIV urges everyone not to grow "accustomed to the clamor of weapons and images of war," and insists that the Church in Monaco is called to bear witness to living in peace.

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MONACO (CNS) -- Built behind fortresses and perched on precipitous rock, the tiny principality of Monaco has survived centuries of invasions, revolutions and world wars, but now this prestigious Mediterranean haven must reach out and share its faith and its riches, Pope Leo XIV said.

"You are among the few countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as a state religion," he said at the start of his one-day visit March 28 to the world's second smallest independent state, almost five times larger than Vatican City.

Jesus calls Christians to become "a kingdom of brothers and sisters -- a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity," he said from a small window of the Prince's Palace to the hundreds of residents and visitors gathered in the huge square below. 

For his first apostolic journey of 2026, Pope Leo chose Monaco -- a glitzy, glamorous resort on the French Riviera famous for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo Casino. With stringent rules for residency, it is home to millionaires, and it has the highest nominal GDP per capita in the world.

Scheduled during Lent and almost three weeks before an intense trip to Africa, the pope's 10-hour trip to this center of luxury reflected a journey calling for purification and conversion.

With two speeches and two homilies spoken in fluent French, Pope Leo's strongest words came at the end, during Mass in the Louis II Stadium.

Reflecting on the day's Gospel reading of the decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus after he brought Lazarus back to life, Pope Leo noted how even today so many "plots are devised" and justified around the world "to kill the innocent."

But just as Jesus gave Lazarus new life, God, too, can rescue dead, deceived or hardened hearts with his mercy, he said. 

Power becomes dominion or wealth becomes greed or beauty becomes vanity, he said, when people "gorge themselves" and become enslaved to "the great and wonderful things of this earth," leaving their neighbor "in misery and sorrow."

The wars staining the earth with blood are "the fruit of the idolatry of power and money," the pope said; peace requires a purified heart and the ability to see "others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated."

"In the world's prolonged Lent, when evil rages and idolatry makes hearts indifferent, the Lord prepares his Easter," he said. The Risen Christ welcomes the sinner and sustains their pilgrimage and the Church's mission "to give God's life" by giving "our lives to our neighbor."

While the small nation has just under 40,000 residents, another 57,000 people commute daily from France and Italy to work there. Both residents and workers come from more than 150 countries.

Archbishop Dominique-Marie David of Monaco said the church pew is a kind of equalizer where "a millionaire and a maid can be sitting side by side."

"One of the rarest places of authentic social mingling in the principality is in the Christian community," he wrote in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, March 27.

Pope Leo encouraged the faithful to guard against religious practices becoming a mere habit. 

An authentic, "living" faith truly defends all people, protects life at all stages, and it makes sure the "current economic and social model" is equitable, just and marked by solidarity, he told them during a gathering in the immense stone Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception -- the final resting place of Philadelphia-born Princess Grace Kelly and her husband, Prince Rainier III.

The city's narrow, cliff-hugging streets did not hold many sightseers, but the four locations the pope visited were full of enthusiastic, but not raucous, crowds.

He shook hands with scores of young people and catechumens in front of the Church of Sainte Dévote, which honors a young woman martyred in 304 and the patron saint of Monaco. The archdiocese had about 70 catechumens preparing for baptism, first Communion and confirmation this year.

Pope Leo encouraged them to "give everything -- your time, your energy -- to God and to your brothers and sisters." It is only through this complete self-giving, he said, that one finds real joy and meaning in life. 

"The world needs your witness to overcome the errors of our time, face its challenges and, above all, to rediscover the sweet taste of loving God and neighbor," he said. 

"Monaco is a small country, but it can be a great place of solidarity and a beacon of hope," he said. "Incorporate the Gospel into the choices you make at work and in your social and political commitments in order to give a voice to the voiceless, thereby spreading a culture of care."

He told them to look to St. Devota and St. Carlo Acutis, whom the pope canonized last September, for inspiration.

Love gives stability in a world "that seems to be in a hurry, eager for novelty, obsessed with unfettered fluidity," he said.

The world "is marked by an almost compulsive need for constant change, be it in fashions, appearances, relationships, ideas or even the dimensions of the person that are essential to their very identity," he said.

"We must clear the doorway of the heart" of fleeting, ephemeral things, he said, "so that the healthy, life-giving air of grace can return to refresh and revitalize its chambers, and so that the strong wind of the Holy Spirit can once again fill the 'sails' of our existence, propelling us towards true happiness."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Palm Sunday procession at the foot of an 85-foot-tall Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square recalls the martyrdom of many early Christians and the fast-thinking foresight of an Italian Renaissance sea captain.

Palm Sunday at the Vatican begins with a procession of young people carrying olive branches and large green palm fronds, followed by clergy holding tall, intricately woven palm leaves. The participants circle the base of the obelisk in the center of the square, while the pope blesses them with holy water.

Starting the ceremony in the center of the square recalls the martyrdom of the early Christians because the 2,000-year-old solid granite obelisk marks the center of a grand arena built in 37 AD by the Roman emperor Caligula. Later, emperors introduced the execution of Christians as a form of entertainment there and St. Peter was among those martyred in the arena. 

To mark the place where many early Christians shed their blood, in 1586 Pope Sixtus V ordered that the same obelisk Caligula brought to Rome from Egypt be erected in the square.

Because the obelisk weighs 327 tons, it took 900 men and 140 horses working 44 winches to move and hoist it into place. Given the difficult and delicate nature of the task, Pope Sixtus forbade onlookers from making any noise as the obelisk was being pulled upright; those who failed to comply would face the death penalty.

According to tradition, Captain Benedetto Bresca, an experienced northern Italian seafarer, was watching in the square that day, and he saw the hemp ropes supporting the obelisk giving way from the excessive strain. 

Defying the pope's orders for absolute silence, Bresca shouted out in his Ligurian dialect, "Aiga ae corde," that is, "water on the ropes" to make them shrink, become stronger and keep them from fraying and snapping. The workers did as they heard and the obelisk did not come crashing to the ground.

Though Bresca was arrested on the spot, Pope Sixtus immediately pardoned him and showed his gratitude by asking him what he would like to have as a reward.

According to legend, Bresca asked that he and his descendants be appointed the official supplier of the pope's palm fronds. His wish was granted and he was allowed to fly the papal naval flag on his boat as it entered the Tiber River when he shipped the palm leaves from the Ligurian coastal city of Sanremo to Rome.

The long tradition of delivering palm fronds from Sanremo to be woven in Rome by Camaldolese nuns ended in the 1970s.

With the help of a palm tree research group, a cooperative in Sanremo revived the tradition in 2003 by supplying "palmurelli," which are palm leaves braided and styled in intricate shapes and patterns, for the Palm Sunday procession.

Other groups in Italy help supply regular palm fronds and tens of thousands of small olive branches for the faithful gathered in the square.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The sanctity of life, from conception to its natural end, must be defended, especially now, in a world marked by "the madness of war," Pope Leo XIV said.

When greeting Polish-speaking visitors during his general audience in St. Peter's Square March 25, Pope Leo highlighted Poland's pro-life celebrations, saying initiatives such as their "Spiritual Adoption of a Conceived Child" were truly needed.

"In a time marked by the madness of war, it is important to defend life from conception to its natural end," he said.

Poland celebrates the Day of the Sanctity of Life every March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, which falls nine months before the Lord's birth Christmas Day and celebrates Jesus' incarnation in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Similar prayer initiatives exist around the world, including in the United States. The late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who is set to be beatified Sept. 24 in St. Louis, also inspired a spiritual adoption program, in which participants pledge to pray daily for nine months for an unborn child whose mother is considering abortion.

Sometimes "spiritual parents" are encouraged to name the unborn child and to pray for him or her daily, and, at the end of nine months, hold a baby shower to collect supplies and money to donate to local pregnancy centers.

Marking the feast of the Annunciation, Pope Leo invited Catholics to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary more closely and to "always be ready to do God's will."

"As we continue our Lenten journey, let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace to imitate Our Blessed Mother in her total 'yes' to the Lord, and so open our hearts to his will for our lives," he told English-speaking pilgrims and visitors.

In his main catechesis, the pope continued his series of reflections on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, specifically, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium."

Pope Leo explained that the hierarchical structure of the Church is not a "human construct" for fulfilling some kind of organizational function, but is "a divine institution whose purpose is to perpetuate the mission given by Christ to the apostles until the end of time."

The Catholic Church, he said, is "founded on the apostles, whom Christ appointed as the living pillars of his mystical body, and possesses a hierarchical structure that works in the service of the unity, mission and sanctification of all her members."

Since the apostles are called to faithfully preserve Christ's "salvific teaching, they hand on their ministry to men who, until Christ’s return, continue to sanctify, guide and instruct the Church 'through their successors in pastoral office,'" he said. 

While all the faithful make up "the one priesthood of Christ," he said, those ordained ministers who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, that is, bishops, priests and deacons, do have a unique ministry.

Endowed with "sacred power" for service in the Church, the bishops, "first and foremost, and through them the priests and deacons, have received tasks ('munera' in Latin), which lead them to the service of 'all those who belong to the People of God,'so that, 'working toward a common goal freely and in an orderly way, [they] may arrive at salvation,'" the pope said, citing the council document.

This apostolic mission is "collegial and communal," reflecting the Lord's desire for "shepherds of His people" who serve with love, he said. That is why St. Paul VI presented the hierarchy as being "born of the charity of Christ, to fulfil, spread and ensure the intact and fruitful transmission of the wealth of faith, examples, precepts and charisms bequeathed by Christ to His Church."

"Dear sisters and dear brothers, let us pray to the Lord that He may send to His Church ministers who are ardent with evangelical charity, dedicated to the good of all the baptized, and courageous missionaries in every part of the world," Pope Leo said.

WASHINGTON - Today, the inaugural meeting was held for the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue on Immigration (ECDI), an ecumenical undertaking of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). 

The ECDI is being co-chaired by Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, and Reverend Walter Kim, president of the NAE. In addition to the co-chairs, the ECDI is comprised of five members from each tradition, as well as organizational observers. 

The initiative builds on a long history of collaboration between the USCCB and NAE, including a joint report released one year ago on the possible impacts of a policy of mass deportation on Christian families living in the United States. Since the release of that report, Catholic and evangelical leaders have grappled with many of the same pastoral challenges related to ongoing immigration enforcement efforts, such as an increase in fear and anxiety among members of their congregations. The USCCB and NAE have both addressed these issues separately.   

In describing the effort, Bishop Cahill stated: 

“I view the ECDI as a means of growing in Christian unity with our evangelical brothers and sisters, while also furthering our shared goal of bringing the message of the Gospel to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time. Whatever theological differences exist between us, Catholics and evangelicals across our country are navigating many of the same complex realities—political and social—and the issue of immigration is an important example. Together, we place our hope in Jesus Christ, and we seek to live out his teaching in relation to this challenging topic. 

“Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has emphasized dialogue as the key to peace, understanding, and fraternity, especially between different faith traditions. In seeking to live that out through the ECDI, I am deeply grateful to my co-chair, Reverend Kim, for his leadership and willingness to collaborate in this way and for the commitment of all those participating.”

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