The Easter greeting from the Vatican’s leader was a direct plea for peace. He asked world governments to stop fighting and give up plans that seek power or control. In his short address, he said people are becoming used to violence and even indifferent to it. He urged those with weapons to drop the
The Vatican hosted a quiet, candle‑lit gathering on Good Friday inside Rome’s historic Colosseum. Thousands of faithful gathered in the ancient amphitheatre, where the pope led a procession that traced Jesus’ final hours. The event blended scripture readings, prayers, and meditations that highlighte
Easter arrives every year with a bold claim: love wins, no matter what the world says. In 2026, that claim feels just as surprising—and just as needed—as ever. The holiday marks a moment when a small group of scared, heartbroken people became so convinced by what they saw that they couldn’t stay qui
The study explores how people with certain personality traits—autistic and positive schizotypal features—experience changes in their religious or spiritual lives. Researchers gathered participants from a variety of faith backgrounds to see if these traits influence major shifts in belief. Autistic
Good Friday is a solemn pause in the Christian calendar that falls two days before Easter. It marks the moment when Jesus endured trial, punishment and death on the cross, a sacrifice Christians believe brings forgiveness. The day is part of Holy Week, a time when believers remember the lead‑up to C
Passover is often turned into a platform for political debate. Groups from every side add symbols to the seder plate that represent their causes: olives for Palestinian solidarity, oranges for LGBTQ+ rights, fair‑trade chocolate for labor justice, and acorns to honor Native Americans. Some even clai
In a high‑school hallway near Tel Aviv, a student named Orel Malik began arranging tefillin on a table during lunch. Tefillin are small leather boxes that hold sacred scrolls, worn by observant men during morning prayers. Malik’s goal was to invite classmates to pause and pray between lessons. When
A small survey of 123 church leaders in Wales looked at how confident they feel about bouncing back from stress and whether that confidence protects them against getting burnt out. Researchers used a short questionnaire to gauge resilience, then checked the leaders’ energy levels and job satisfactio
Pope Leo XIV opened his first Palm Sunday sermon by warning that many leaders use religion to justify fighting. He spoke to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square about Christians who are trapped in wars in places like the Middle East and Ukraine. The pope called Jesus “King of Peace” and said that no one
The Old City of Jerusalem is full of sacred places. On Palm Sunday, a day that starts Holy Week for Christians, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem tried to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Police stopped him and a friar from entering the church. They said security worries linked to the Iran con
