The logjam of vessels unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz has created a challenging situation for the Apostleship of the Sea, which provides pastoral care for sailors.   Commercial vessels are pictured off shore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. | Credit: AFP via Getty Images By Victoria Cardiel …

At Palm Sunday Mass and the Angelus following it, the pope prayed for Middle East Christians, victims of war, and migrants who died at sea off Crete.   Pope Leo XIV takes part in the traditional Palm Sunday procession in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on March 29, 2026. …

The pope also invited Catholics to pray for priestly vocations. Pope Leo XIV gives a thumbs up during the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 25, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News By Victoria Cardiel March 25, 2026 at 9:30 AM ET Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday said …

Now more than ever, the Christian minority in the Holy Land needs the support it receives through the annual Good Friday collection as ongoing violence in the Middle East has curtailed pilgrimages.   An Armenian Orthodox priest in prayer at the edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. | …

“I am close to all the Lebanese people at this time of grave trial,” the pope said on March 11. Pope Leo XIV prays during the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 11, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News By Victoria Cardiel March 11, 2026 at 7:49 AM ET …

The removal of the doors to the Holy Sepulchre for restoration work provides an opportunity to look into the fascinating history of the church that encloses the site of Jesus’ death and resurrection.   The entrance with one of the doors already removed from the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. …

A cycle of paintings by Swiss artist Manuel Dürr has been installed for Lent, marking the basilica’s quadricentennial. By Victoria Cardiel February 24, 2026 at 2:15 PM ET St. Peter’s Basilica has inaugurated new Stations of the Cross — 14 large oil paintings by Swiss painter Manuel Dürr — for Lent …

The friar who ministers to 800 Catholics on the world’s largest island watches international negotiations with unease. By Victoria Cardiel January 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET In Greenland, the world’s largest island, glaciers spill toward the sea from a vast ice cap — and in the middle of that extreme …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jan 6, 2026 / 07:00 am Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the ordinary holy year to an end — a time of grace that invited Catholics to conversion, reconciliation, and hope. The pontiff processed toward the Holy …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Dec 24, 2025 / 06:00 am Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first Christmas at the Vatican by reviving the tradition of offering Christmas Mass on Dec. 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica, something no pope has done since 1994. The Christmas celebrations — which will be …