Across France, more than 13,000 adults will be baptized this Easter, according to data released by the French Bishops’ Conference — an increase of 28% compared with 2025.
The highly anticipated sixth season will portray the 24 hours of Good Friday — culminating in Christ’s crucifixion.
Zoom series to give young men look at priesthood #Catholic – 
“Five Conversations about the Priesthood,” a new Zoom series, will give young men ages 15–20 discerning their vocations insight into the priesthood and Catholic faith through live testimony from a priest in pastoral ministry.
This inaugural five-part series will be held on Zoom on consecutive Sundays from April 12 to May 10, at 7:30 p.m. Father Charles Lana, vocation director of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, will lead five 30-minute videoconferencing sessions about various aspects of parish priesthood. He will cover the following topics: Priestly Identity, The Eucharist in the Priest’s Life, The Sacrament of Penance, Preaching, and Parish Priesthood.
Father Lana will start each session with a 10- to 15-minute talk on the featured topic. Young participants are warmly invited to join the conversation, share their thoughts, and ask the priest questions. Ordained in 2019, Father Lana has served in parish and diocesan ministries. Guest priests or seminarians may join the sessions to offer different perspectives on priestly life, making each session an engaging experience for all involved.
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“This series is an opportunity for young men who might have a calling to begin discerning a vocation to the priesthood. Many of them may have little knowledge of the priesthood and Church tradition,” Father Lana said. “The series is designed to help these men begin to understand the priesthood through the experiences of a priest and conversations,” Lana said. “This could lead these men to deeper discernment and greater involvement in vocations-awareness activities,” he said.
The series is based on “Five Conversations about the Priesthood,” a booklet by Father Michael Pratt, and will cover the following topics:
• Priestly Identity (April 12), focusing on the priest’s purpose and identity.
• The Eucharist in the Priest’s Life (April 19), highlighting the Eucharist as central to the priesthood.
• The Sacrament of Penance (April 26), exploring the priest’s role in reconciliation.
• Preaching (May 3), examining the priest’s role as a preacher, a teacher, and proclaimer of the Gospel. It will offer practical suggestions for preparing a homily — including the goal of keeping it simple, sincere, succinct, and substantial — and for delivering it.
• Parish Priesthood (May 10), inviting participating young men to gain an authentic understanding of the daily spiritual and pastoral life of a priest.
To explore upcoming Vocation Office activities, visit https://patersonvocations.org. You are also invited to attend the office’s monthly First Saturday Day of Discernment for young adults, college-age or older, continuing Saturday, May 2, at 10 a.m. at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Wharton, N.J.
To register for “Five Conversations about the Priesthood,” email vocations@patersondiocese.org.
– “Five Conversations about the Priesthood,” a new Zoom series, will give young men ages 15–20 discerning their vocations insight into the priesthood and Catholic faith through live testimony from a priest in pastoral ministry. This inaugural five-part series will be held on Zoom on consecutive Sundays from April 12 to May 10, at 7:30 p.m. Father Charles Lana, vocation director of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, will lead five 30-minute videoconferencing sessions about various aspects of parish priesthood. He will cover the following topics: Priestly Identity, The Eucharist in the Priest’s Life, The Sacrament of Penance, Preaching, and Parish
Vikas Chander from New Delhi, India The Vela supernova remnant in the constellation Vela the Sails was created by the explosive death of a massive star roughly 11,000 years ago. This two-panel mosaic spans roughly 8° of sky, with intricate filaments of shocked gas on display. The photographer used a 6-inch f/3.3 scope to takeContinue reading “Explosion in the Sails”
The post Explosion in the Sails appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist onboard launches on the Artemis II mission, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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It’s going to be very easy to buy Easter Eggs this year, thanks to President Trump.
The post Thank You President Trump – Egg Prices Are Down 80 Percent Just in Time for Easter appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom has reportedly spent upwards of $20 million on a consulting firm that was going to search for ways to cut government waste.
The post BEYOND PARODY: Gavin Newsom Spends $20 Million on Consulting Firm in Effort to Find Ways to Cut Waste appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Professor Jonathan Turley, who teaches law at George Washington University, appeared on FOX News this week to provide analysis of the birthright citizenship case currently being heard by the U.S.
The post Law Professor Jonathan Turley: It’s ‘Insane’ That We Continue to Embrace Birthright Citizenship (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Isaiah
52:13—53:12
See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him–
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man–
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.
Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.
Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he surrendered himself to death
and was counted among the wicked;
and he shall take away the sins of many,
and win pardon for their offenses.
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
4:14-16; 5:7-9
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
From the Gospel according to John
18:1—19:42
Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
He said to them, “I AM.”
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, “I AM, “
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
“Whom are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
Jesus answered,
“I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
This was to fulfill what he had said,
“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave’s name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”
So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
“You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
“I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said.”
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said,
“I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
“What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him,
“If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you.”
At this, Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone, “
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered,
“Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered,
“I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered,
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered,
“You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
“I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again,
“Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge’s bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.
I thirst, says Jesus, and in this way he manifests his humanity and also ours. None of us can be self-sufficient. No-one can save themselves. Life is “fulfilled” not when we are strong, but when we learn how to receive. It is precisely at that moment, after receiving from unknown hands a sponge soaked in vinegar, that Jesus proclaims: It is finished. Love has made itself needy, and precisely for this reason it has accomplished its work. This is the Christian paradox: God saves not by doing, but by letting himself do. Not by defeating evil with force, but by accepting the weakness of love to the very end. On the cross, Jesus teaches us that man does not realize himself in power, but in trustful openness to others, even when they are hostile and enemies. Salvation is not found in autonomy, but in humbly recognizing one’s own need and in being able to express it freely. The fulfilment of our humanity in God’s plan is not an act of strength, but a gesture of trust. Jesus does not save with a dramatic twist, but by asking for something that he cannot give himself. And it is here that the door to true hope opens: if even the Son of God chose not to be self-sufficient, then our thirst too – for love, for meaning, for justice – is a sign not of failure, but of truth (Pope Leo XIV – General Audience, 3 September 2025)
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Departing from Pope Francis’ custom of celebrating the liturgy in prisons or migrant centers, Leo celebrated the rite in the cathedral of Rome and washed the feet of 12 priests of the Diocese of Rome.
Catholic speakers for the May 17 event on the National Mall include Bishop Robert Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, and actor Jonathan Roumie. Cardinal Timothy Dolan is set to offer a video address.
On Holy Thursday, the pontiff urged Catholics to imitate Christ’s service in a world marked by brutality.
The Catholic bishops were among more than 50 intervenors presenting arguments at a landmark Supreme Court of Canada hearing into the constitutionality of Quebec’s 2019 secularism law.
CHICAGO, IL — After releasing Jayden Ivey over his statements about the unrighteousness of Pride month, the Chicago Bulls have offered to reinstate Ivey on the team if he will agree to do some cocaine and beat a few women.
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Though Donald Trump will leave office after a new president is elected in 2028, his legacy will live on forever in the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library in Miami. The proposed library will feature an impressive lineup of exhibits, with some of them still being kept under wraps.
Read More| Picture of the day |
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Little corella (Cacatua sanguinea gymnopis) Murray River, Blanchetown, South Australia. A type of cockatoo.
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![Chrism Mass highlights prayer for peace in troubled world #Catholic - At the annual Chrism Mass on March 31, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney encouraged the faithful to pray to Jesus, asking him to give them — and a broken world — “healing only he can give” as they contemplate Christ’s passion and resurrection in this Holy Week for the redemption of humanity.
Referring to Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday homily, Bishop Sweeney also encouraged Catholics of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey to “share that healing and peace with others” in his homily during the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in New Jersey. The bishop also prayed for peace in the war-ravaged Middle East and Eastern Europe and for elected leaders in the United States, armed services personnel and their families, military chaplains, and victims of war and violence in the world.
Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli, along with the priests of the diocese, attended to concelebrate the Mass with Bishop Sweeney, who was the homilist and principal celebrant. The priests renewed their priestly promises before the bishop and received the prayers and support of the faithful, who filled the cathedral during the liturgy, including deacons, religious, and laity.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
At the Mass, Bishop Sweeney first consecrated and blessed the Oil of the Sick, used for the Anointing of the Sick, and the Oil of Catechumens, for those preparing for baptism. He then consecrated the Sacred Chrism, which is used for baptism, confirmation, holy orders, and the dedication of altars. Once consecrated, these holy oils will be used in parishes throughout the diocese during the coming year for sacramental celebrations.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney also prayed for and thanked everyone serving in the diocese, including priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, staff, and volunteers of the diocese and parishes.
“Tonight, as a Church united, we celebrate and give thanks for all the ways our diocese — because of each of you and many more — respond to the Lord’s great call and commission: ‘to go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, teaching them’ — and to our Lord Jesus and the love of his sacred heart, which is with us always until the end of time,” Bishop Sweeney said.
Following the Mass, representatives from each parish in the diocese received the holy oils, which they will use for the first time at the Easter Vigil. This annual blessing by the bishop unites him with the parishes as the oils are then used during sacramental celebrations.
As the celebration of Holy Week continues, Bishop Sweeney also urged diocesan faithful at the Chrism Mass to take up their spiritual cross on the road to Calvary.
“We ask for God’s guidance in difficult times, that the cross may lead us to the resurrection and share in his victory,” Bishop Sweeney said.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/chrism-mass-highlights-prayer-for-peace-in-troubled-world-catholic-at-the-annual-chrism-mass-on-march-31-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-encouraged-the-faithful-to-pray-to-jesus-asking-him-to-give-them.jpg)
Chrism Mass highlights prayer for peace in troubled world #Catholic – 
At the annual Chrism Mass on March 31, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney encouraged the faithful to pray to Jesus, asking him to give them — and a broken world — “healing only he can give” as they contemplate Christ’s passion and resurrection in this Holy Week for the redemption of humanity.
Referring to Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday homily, Bishop Sweeney also encouraged Catholics of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey to “share that healing and peace with others” in his homily during the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in New Jersey. The bishop also prayed for peace in the war-ravaged Middle East and Eastern Europe and for elected leaders in the United States, armed services personnel and their families, military chaplains, and victims of war and violence in the world.
Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli, along with the priests of the diocese, attended to concelebrate the Mass with Bishop Sweeney, who was the homilist and principal celebrant. The priests renewed their priestly promises before the bishop and received the prayers and support of the faithful, who filled the cathedral during the liturgy, including deacons, religious, and laity.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
At the Mass, Bishop Sweeney first consecrated and blessed the Oil of the Sick, used for the Anointing of the Sick, and the Oil of Catechumens, for those preparing for baptism. He then consecrated the Sacred Chrism, which is used for baptism, confirmation, holy orders, and the dedication of altars. Once consecrated, these holy oils will be used in parishes throughout the diocese during the coming year for sacramental celebrations.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney also prayed for and thanked everyone serving in the diocese, including priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, staff, and volunteers of the diocese and parishes.
“Tonight, as a Church united, we celebrate and give thanks for all the ways our diocese — because of each of you and many more — respond to the Lord’s great call and commission: ‘to go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, teaching them’ — and to our Lord Jesus and the love of his sacred heart, which is with us always until the end of time,” Bishop Sweeney said.
Following the Mass, representatives from each parish in the diocese received the holy oils, which they will use for the first time at the Easter Vigil. This annual blessing by the bishop unites him with the parishes as the oils are then used during sacramental celebrations.
As the celebration of Holy Week continues, Bishop Sweeney also urged diocesan faithful at the Chrism Mass to take up their spiritual cross on the road to Calvary.
“We ask for God’s guidance in difficult times, that the cross may lead us to the resurrection and share in his victory,” Bishop Sweeney said.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– At the annual Chrism Mass on March 31, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney encouraged the faithful to pray to Jesus, asking him to give them — and a broken world — “healing only he can give” as they contemplate Christ’s passion and resurrection in this Holy Week for the redemption of humanity. Referring to Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday homily, Bishop Sweeney also encouraged Catholics of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey to “share that healing and peace with others” in his homily during the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in New Jersey. The bishop also
Comet C/2025 R3 may reach rare brightness levels, offering a spectacular (and unpredictable) show before sunrise.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/TAL-comet-c-2025-a6-lemmon-NEWGREATCOMET0226-91aa29e133834cc7bfcabebc908a65e4.jpg)
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. April 1: A Full Pink Moon and a double star You’ll want eyes on Jupiter this evening as Europa passes north of Callisto while Ganymede’s large shadow transits the gas giant’s cloud tops. Start observing by 11 P.M. EDT, as the brightContinue reading “The Sky Today on Thursday, April 2: Jupiter’s moons on display”
The post The Sky Today on Thursday, April 2: Jupiter’s moons on display appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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President Trump’s first address on the Iran war signaled continued military action, as Catholic leaders called for dialogue and a ceasefire.
President Trump is scheduled to address the nation tonight with an update on the war in Iran, nearly five weeks into the conflict. As The Gateway Pundit reported, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday that Trump would give an “important update on Iran.” This comes as Trump threatens to escalate the war amid the deployment of thousands of additional troops and weighs his options to end the war or deploy boots on the ground.
The post WATCH LIVE: President Trump Addresses the Nation With Important Update on Iran – 9 PM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A federal judge has revoked the U.S.
The post Federal Judge STRIPS Citizenship from Chinese Couple Who Sold Out America to China appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A Democrat congressman has been left embarrassed after thinking he could get away with spreading propaganda in front of what he thought was a friendly audience.
The post WATCH: Democrat Congressman Tries to Scaremonger Church Attendees About Voter ID and It Blows Up in His Face appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Communities of faith prepare hearts for Christ’s resurrection Sunday #Catholic – 
The 107 parishes of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey are readying their faithful for Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday, April 4, with a traditional array of spiritual events and Mass to commemorate his passion, death, and resurrection during the Paschal Triduum, from Holy Thursday on April 1 to its triumphant culmination of Holy Week on April 4, Easter Sunday.
Typically, these parishes, including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. — the mother church of the diocese — and various shrines, hold a full schedule of activities, starting with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. Observances continue on Good Friday with Veneration of the Cross and/or Stations of the Cross, and again on Good Friday and on Holy Saturday with the Blessing of Food and the Easter Vigil. Celebrations conclude on Easter Sunday with Masses in various languages, celebrating Christ’s resurrection for the redemption of the world. See individual parish websites for schedules.
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Additionally, many parishes of the diocese, including the cathedral, will hold special events and Masses during the Paschal Triduum. These include Living Stations of the Cross, Easter egg hunts, and Masses celebrated by visiting Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. Check parish websites, social media, and The Beacon’s “What To Do Calendar.”
On Good Friday, the cathedral will hold Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), a popular street procession and reenactment of Christ’s passion, and a formal Good Friday service featuring solemn intercessions, and the Veneration of the Cross, starting outside on the streets at noon. St. John’s will also welcome Bishop Sweeney for a Passion of the Lord service that day at 3 p.m. and again on Holy Saturday for the Easter Vigil at 8 p.m.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Haskell neighborhood of Wanaque, N.J., will hold a Living Station at 7 p.m. on Good Friday. St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson will present the Living Stations by students of its parish school at 7:30 p.m.
The Performing Arts Ministry at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Harding Township will present a Living Stations, including the 15th, at 8 p.m. on Good Friday. The multigenerational cast, narrators, and musicians tell the story of our Lord’s journey to the Cross.
In Randolph, N.J., Resurrection Parish will hold a Living Stations at 7 p.m. on Good Friday. The parish’s Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 4, from 8 to 9:30 p.m., will include Blessing of the New Fire and procession into the church with the Paschal Candle. The liturgy continues with Night Watch of the Resurrection, Liturgy of the Word, Blessing of Easter Water, Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation, and Liturgy of the Eucharist. On Easter Sunday, Bishop Sweeney will celebrate Mass at 11 a.m. in the church.
St. Jude Parish in Hardyston, N.J., will hold Seven Last Words, a service reflecting on the final seven sayings of Jesus Christ from the cross, central to Holy Week reflections, on Good Friday from 12 to 2 p.m. This will be followed by a Service of the Lord’s Passion at 3 p.m. and Adoration of the Cross and Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m.
On Easter Sunday, April 5, Holy Spirit Parish in Pequannock, N.J., will hold an Easter egg hunt for children and families on the parish school playground after the 10 a.m. family Mass, weather permitting. The rain date will be Sunday, April 12, after the 10 a.m. Mass. That day, St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J., will have an Easter egg hunt following the 11 a.m. Mass.
– The 107 parishes of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey are readying their faithful for Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday, April 4, with a traditional array of spiritual events and Mass to commemorate his passion, death, and resurrection during the Paschal Triduum, from Holy Thursday on April 1 to its triumphant culmination of Holy Week on April 4, Easter Sunday. Typically, these parishes, including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. — the mother church of the diocese — and various shrines, hold a full schedule of activities, starting with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on
EWTN News speaks with Jesuit Father Richard A. D’Souza, director of the Vatican Observatory since September 2025.
A reading from the Exodus
12:1-8, 11-14
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year.
Tell the whole community of Israel:
On the tenth of this month every one of your families
must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
If a family is too small for a whole lamb,
it shall join the nearest household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb
in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.
You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month,
and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present,
it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
“This is how you are to eat it:
with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,
you shall eat like those who are in flight.
It is the Passover of the LORD.
For on this same night I will go through Egypt,
striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast,
and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!
But the blood will mark the houses where you are.
Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;
thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,
no destructive blow will come upon you.
“This day shall be a memorial feast for you,
which all your generations shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians
11:23-26
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
From thw Gospel according to John
13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
Let us listen once more to the words of Jesus: the leaders of this world build empires with power and money (cf. Mt 20:25; Mk 10:42), “but not so with you” (Lk 22:26). This is not how God acts: the Master has no throne, but girds himself with a towel and kneels at the feet of each one of us. His empire is the small space required to wash the feet of his friends and care for them. It is also an invitation to adopt a different perspective, to look at the world from a lower position: through the eyes of those who suffer rather than the mighty; to view history through the eyes of the little ones, rather than through the perspective of the powerful; to interpret the events of history from the viewpoint of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the wounded child, the exile and the fugitive; to see things through the eyes of the shipwrecked and of the poor man Lazarus lying at the rich man’s doorstep. Otherwise, nothing will ever change, and a new era, a kingdom of justice and peace, will never dawn. This is precisely what Mary does in the Canticle of the Magnificat when she considers the points at which humanity is broken and the world becomes distorted: the contrast between the humble and the powerful, the poor and the rich, the satiated and the hungry. She chooses the little ones; she stands with the least powerful in history, to teach us to imagine and to dream together with her of a new heavens and a new earth. (Pope Leo XIV – Prayer Vigil and Rosary for Peace, 11 October 2025)
Read More![Supreme Court grills both sides in ‘birthright citizenship’ oral arguments - #Catholic - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether President Donald Trump’s executive order denying citizenship to children of parents without legal immigration status complies with the Constitution.Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to block children from automatically receiving citizenship if their parents were residing in the country unlawfully during the birth. It immediately faced legal challenges, based on the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, which established birthright citizenship.The amendment guarantees citizenship to any person born in the country and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” The April 1 arguments, which Trump attended, focused on the meaning of the latter phrase and on Supreme Court precedent in the 1898 decision in the U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark case.In February, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) petitioned the Supreme Court to consider the moral implications of Trump’s order, saying it will determine “whether the law will protect the human dignity of all God’s children.”Andrew Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies and a former immigration judge, told “EWTN News Nightly” those questions “weren’t really relevant” to the legal debate in court, which instead focused on the proper interpretation of the amendment and precedent.The bishops’ objections were “heavy on morality, on human dignity, but rather light on the law itself,” he said.Justices question Trump’s authoritySolicitor General D. John Sauer, who defended the government, noted the motivation for the 14th Amendment was to guarantee citizenship to “the newly freed slaves and their children” after the abolition of slavery.He argued that the text is meant to protect those who are “domiciled” in the country, which he defined as those with a “lawful presence with the intent to remain.” He said the “domicile of the child follows the domicile of the parents,” and those who are meant to be temporarily present or not allowed to be present are “not covered by the clause.”Sauer referenced the Wong Kim Ark case, in which the Supreme Court said the man — born in the United States to two parents who were legal permanent residents but not citizens — was a citizen upon birth and referenced the parents’ “domiciled” status.Although the nearly 130-year-old decision held a broad view of birthright citizenship, he said the court at the time did not directly address the citizenship of those born to parents who were not “domiciled.”That decision, however, only listed a few examples for when birthright citizenship did not apply: those born to foreign diplomats, those born to occupying enemy forces, and certain Indigenous Americans.Sauer added that there is a problem with “birth tourism,” stating people have “flocked to give birth in the United States in recent decades,” creating citizens with “no meaningful ties” to the country. He told the justices it is “a new world,” which forces the justices to deal with questions that the previous court did not have to consider.This prompted a response from Chief Justice John Roberts: “It’s a new world, [but] it’s the same Constitution.”
It’s a new world, [but] it’s the same Constitution.
John RobertsChief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Neil Gorsuch expressed heavy skepticism of the argument, saying: “You don’t see ‘domicile’ mentioned in the debates” in Congress over the 14th Amendment, stating: “These concepts aren’t discussed in them.”Justice Elena Kagan similarly said the “domiciled” element is “not what we think of when we think of the word jurisdiction” and accused him of “using some pretty obscure sources to get to this concept.”More concerns came from Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who pointed out the historical distinction between “Jus soli” and “Jus sanguinis” citizenship, with the former guaranteeing citizenship based on the soil and the latter guaranteeing citizenship based on the parents.She said it would be “puzzling” for the framers to word the amendment that way if they wanted to tie citizenship to the parents and that one would expect “more discussion” of that. She said the language doesn’t “focus on the parents” but rather the child.Justices leave door open to interpretationIn spite of the heavy skepticism of the government’s position, several justices left the door open to a more restrictive interpretation of birthright citizenship.Cecillia Wang, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and a beneficiary of birthright citizenship herself, argued that the framers of the amendment enshrined birthright citizenship in the Constitution to “put it out of the reach of any government official to destroy.”She argued that the 14th amendment embodies the English common law tradition, which did not consider “domicile” to be relevant to “Jus soli” citizenship and said the Wong Kim Ark case did not limit the ruling to the children of “domiciled” parents.Rather, Wang argued the decision provides “a closed set of exceptions” to birthright citizenship, which cannot be expanded without overturning that precedent. She said it was written in a way “to foreclose new exceptions.”Several justices took issue with this as well, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh asking whether there could be “additional exceptions, based on modern circumstances, reasoning by analogy,” and Barrett raising the same point, stating: “The language doesn’t say it’s closed.”Kagan noted that the Wong Kim Ark case used the word “domiciled” several times to explain the ruling, and Justice Samuel Alito argued “domiciled” was used to distinguish permanent residents from migrant laborers who did not plan to remain.Alternatively, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested the language for “domiciled” may have simply been used “to help the public accept the outcome of this case” rather than to limit the decision.Gorsuch said the legal opinion following the Wong Kim Ark decision, about whether the ruling applied to the children of non-domiciled people, “remained opened” and scholarly opinion was varied and unclear, adding: “It seems to me it’s a mess.”The Supreme Court has the option to simply rule on Trump’s executive order or wade into the broader constitutional questions in its decision. The government is not asking the court to reject the birthright citizenship of people who have already received it but is seeking to have a different policy moving forward.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/supreme-court-grills-both-sides-in-birthright-citizenship-oral-arguments-catholic-the-u-s-supreme-court-on-wednesday-considered-whether-president-donald-trumps-executi.jpg)
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order denying citizenship to children of parents without legal immigration status.
Jerusalem Church leaders decry death penalty law, ‘lifeless’ holy city ahead of Easter #Catholic – 
JERUSALEM (OSV News) — Church leaders in Jerusalem expressed sorrow over the news of the passage by the Israeli Knesset of a death penalty law — by hanging — for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks on Israelis, noting that Easter, which celebrates life, represents the opposite.
The Holy See and the Catholic Church are very clear that there are no circumstances in which the death penalty is necessary, said Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Franciscan Custos Father Francesco Ielpo at the annual pre-Easter press conference on March 31.
They said the new law serves only to create deeper distrust and hatred between Israelis and Palestinians and alters the concept of the State of Israel.
“It is for us, not only for me but for all of us, news that we have taken with great pain,” said Cardinal Pizzaballa. “We must work with all parts of civil society to ensure that attention is kept alive and the situation does not deteriorate further.”
“Killing is wrong. And cutting (short a) life is never good for any reason,” added the custos.
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While settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank increases and remains “very tense” and very problematic, Cardinal Pizzaballa said he was appreciative to see former Israeli diplomats and rabbis starting to speak out against it and creating more awareness about the situation.
Jerusalem remains a city without life as pilgrims who normally fill the streets and holy sites during Easter, as well as those celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins the evening of April 1, have not been able to travel because of the war, said Cardinal Pizzaballa.
“(Jerusalem) is a place of life, but lifeless at this time, which is very sad,” he said. “And we also feel uncomfortable at times, because we ask(ed) the pilgrims to come so many times, and when they started to come, another war started. Now it is more difficult to convince them that Jerusalem is safe. But we know that there is a strong desire to come, and we need to work for this. But now it will take a little more time, I’m afraid.”
On Palm Sunday Cardinal Pizzaballa and Father Ielpo were barred by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — an incident that created international pushback against Israel and prompted Israeli authorities to reassure smooth access to holy sites for the prelates.
Father Ielpo described the incident as “a painful episode,” emphasizing that it also presented an opportunity to clarify certain “fundamental” and “non-negotiable” rights.
“It is not our intention to return polemically to what happened last Sunday,” he said. “Rather our desire is to look ahead in a constructive spirit, so that freedom of worship for all religions is always respected, and that the Status Quo — especially within the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher — is fully upheld,” Father Ielpo said.
“It is on these principles that we wish to continue building, in dialogue and cooperation with the authorities, convinced that mutual respect is the foundation for authentic coexistence and for the protection of the holy places, which belong not only to this land, but to all humanity,” the custos emphasized.
He stressed that with billions of believers worldwide looking to Jerusalem and its holy sites, the government of Israel must uphold its responsibility to ensure that prayers continue at all times, despite difficulties, by working in coordination with Church authorities to find appropriate solutions.
“We don’t want to exacerbate the situation. We are sorry for what happened,” added Cardinal Pizzaballa. “The situation here for a very long time is very polarized. We don’t want to become any instrument for anti-Jewish, anti-Israel or antisemitic (discourses). We can’t avoid people using these events.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa said they have understood and followed the need for the Home Front Command directives because of the monthlong U.S. and Israel-Iran war. He said liturgies within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during Holy Week will proceed “internally with closed doors” with “very few people” — perhaps up to five — joining the 10 Franciscans who live daily in the basilica to respect security norms.
However, the crucial principle of the bishop presiding over these important liturgies will be maintained.
Other parishes and churches are encouraged to remain open and allow participation according to local situations, potentially by holding multiple Masses, he said.
Cardinal Pizzaballa called on local and global Christians to remain attached to the teachings of Jesus, particularly humility and service, despite current difficulties. The resurrection of Christ transforms what is considered “foolish” by human criteria, offering hope and a different way forward, he said.
“We should accept that this is our way as Christians and despite the situation, we should remain attached to this,” he said.
Judith Sudilovsky writes for OSV News from Jerusalem.
– JERUSALEM (OSV News) — Church leaders in Jerusalem expressed sorrow over the news of the passage by the Israeli Knesset of a death penalty law — by hanging — for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks on Israelis, noting that Easter, which celebrates life, represents the opposite. The Holy See and the Catholic Church are very clear that there are no circumstances in which the death penalty is necessary, said Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Franciscan Custos Father Francesco Ielpo at the annual pre-Easter press conference on March 31. They said the new law serves only to create deeper distrust
Christian leaders and Catholic clergy in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation are urging Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to add Easter Sunday to the government holiday calendar.
Catholic Charities USA’s traveling museum ‘celebrates power of Christian service’ #Catholic – 
NEW YORK (OSV News) — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York welcomed the mobile People of Hope Museum March 26, near Union Square in Manhattan. The tractor-trailer-sized traveling museum will tour under the sponsorship of Catholic Charities USA.
With its welcome in New York, “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors” began a three-year journey across the United States.
Produced by Catholic Charities USA, the People of Hope Museum will ultimately visit more than 150 communities to promote empathy and inspire visitors to find ways to serve those in need in their local areas. The initiative is made possible thanks to a 2024 grant of nearly $5 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. through an invitational round of its National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life.
The museum is a nationwide storytelling initiative from CCUSA “highlighting the impact of neighbors helping neighbors, and celebrating the power of Christian service,” organizers said.
Locally, Catholic Charities of New York is co-sponsoring the People of Hope Museum with CCUSA, along with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
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The People of Hope Museum was parked March 26 in an area near Union Square. A 10 a.m. opening ceremony and ribbon cutting took place in front of three dozen Catholic Charities staff, affiliates and journalists.
About an hour later, the museum was open to the public until 6 p.m. The next day it was open to the public again from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
“We’re here to tell the stories of many, many employees of Catholic Charities throughout the country — hundreds of Catholic Charities (chapters), thousands of employees, who day in and day out, they take care of the people who need it the most,” J. Antonio Fernandez, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, said during the opening ceremony. “Thank you for coming today as we celebrate this wonderful museum. Thank you, and God bless you.”
Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, was at the opening of the mobile museum, a venture she said “is a testament to mercy, service, hope, compassion and faith. And it is a special honor that we are here in New York City, and that it is co-hosted by Catholic Charities (of the) Archdiocese of New York, and Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens.”
Father Patrick J. Keating, deputy CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn, offered a prayer of blessing for the museum, the people who enter it, and for “the human family.”
Jamar Carr, a substance abuse counselor with the Brooklyn Diocese, was given the honor of cutting the ribbon.
Housed in a digitally outfitted semi-truck, the People of Hope Museum features 42 original, authentic video stories told by Catholic Charities staff and volunteers from agencies around the country. In the brief videos, the storytellers share first-person accounts of what it means to serve someone in need in their darkest moment.
Beyond these stories, the museum contains an interactive poverty simulation of stepping into another person’s life, making difficult choices and experiencing the realities of living on the margins.
Visitors can also peruse a learning library featuring curated 2- to 4-minute audio segments from prominent books on poverty, social isolation, bridgebuilding and community action, including by authors Matthew Desmond, Arthur Brooks and Robert Putnam.
National and state data illustrate the scope of need and the vital role of social services organizations across the country, and a recording room allows attendees to share their own stories of hope and service.
From New York, through December, the mobile museum will go through 21 states, from Texas to Ohio and from Maine to Florida, mostly in the eastern half of the United States. It will tour the Western states in 2027. In the first half of 2028, the museum will visit communities that were missed or would like a repeat visit, CCUSA said in a news release.
CCUSA, which has its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, is a network of local Catholic Charities agencies in dioceses across the U.S.
Thomas Galfo, 44, and his wife, Hazel Yaptangco, were among members of the public who entered the mobile museum on its opening morning to view and listen to what the museum had to offer. They are parishioners of St. Simon the Apostle Catholic Church in Green Pond, New Jersey, in the Paterson Diocese.
“We heard about this through social media, and we wanted to take the trip into the city to see it firsthand. It’s absolutely amazing, from the second that you walk up to the trailer, and walking through the trailer with all the details. They did an excellent job,” Galfo said in an interview inside the museum with The Good Newsroom, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York.
Yaptangco said, “Wow, there are many real stories here, of people struggling every day. This really spells it out, what is going on in their lives. It’s great to see an organization bringing awareness to that, and showing ways that you can take action.”
Click here to sign up for updates on the tour stops for the People of Hope traveling museum.
Armando Machado writes for The Good Newsroom. This story was originally published by The Good Newsroom, the online news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York, and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
– NEW YORK (OSV News) — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York welcomed the mobile People of Hope Museum March 26, near Union Square in Manhattan. The tractor-trailer-sized traveling museum will tour under the sponsorship of Catholic Charities USA. With its welcome in New York, “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors” began a three-year journey across the United States. Produced by Catholic Charities USA, the People of Hope Museum will ultimately visit more than 150 communities to promote empathy and inspire visitors to find ways to serve those in need in their local areas. The initiative
UEFA told EWTN News its fine on a Serbian soccer club was for offensive language, not a massive Orthodox Christian display — contradicting widespread reports the sanction targeted religious imagery.
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HOLLYWOOD, CA — The movie industry saw the revival of one of its brightest young stars, as actress Brie Larson’s career showed signs of taking off to new heights after she started shutting up.
Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the United States Supreme Court issued a decisive ruling on a controversial case in Colorado regarding conversion therapy for minors, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raised a pertinent question about the constitutionality of the law.
Read More| Picture of the day |
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A previously unpublished illustration intended for the Saturday Evening Post’s 1943 New Year’s edition. It was never used due to publisher demands that the illustrator, J.C. Leyendecker, create a more optimistic and patriotic cover that was sensitive to the families of American soldiers. It was publicly shown for the first time in 2020 as part of an auction.
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Two Paterson churches will merge to create a vibrant St. Pio Parish #Catholic – 
Located only three blocks apart, St. Bonaventure and Our Lady of Pompei (OLP) parishes brought Christ’s love to the people of the Stoney Road section of Paterson, N.J., as separate faith communities for more than 260 years combined. The churches are so close that each parish can hear the other’s church bells from its front steps.
So it might seem providential that on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, these two parishes, each with its own history and traditions, will merge into a single parish under a new name: St. Pio of Pietrelcina — also known as “Padre Pio” — Parish. The merger will streamline the administration of St. Bonaventure’s and OLP into one parish. To keep meeting the people’s spiritual and pastoral needs, St. Pio’s is ensuring that both churches will remain open and has readjusted the Mass schedules at both locations.
Father Manuel Cuellar, who will become pastor on April 12, and St. Pio’s looks forward to uniting both parishes and bringing together their (Anglo) English-speaking and growing Hispanic communities. During the past year, this merger process has unfolded in a spirit of prayerful discernment and collaboration.
On April 12, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will celebrate the establishment of St. Pio’s during a Eucharistic procession at 3 p.m. from OLP on Murray Avenue to St. Bonaventure’s on Ramsey Street. The event will start with the Divine Mercy Chaplet at OLP and conclude with Benediction at St. Bonaventure’s. Bishop Sweeney approved the merger after prayer and consultation and accompanied parishioners during the process.
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“Our Lady of Pompei and St. Bonaventure’s have four different communities, including two (Anglo) English-speaking and two Hispanic. But I want to see St. Pio become one dynamic community,” said Father Cuellar. He will remain the parochial vicar of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson until he becomes St. Pio’s pastor. “In my homilies, I say that no matter what language we speak or where we come from, we are all children of God. We are doing this merger for the good of the people, especially for our children.”
Also attending the April 12 prayer service will be clergy from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, who have been instrumental in shepherding this merger. They are Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and pastor of OLP until Father Cuellar becomes pastor of St. Pio’s, and Father Alex Nevitt, diocesan episcopal delegate for parish leadership development and administrator of St. Bonaventure’s until that day.
Father Cuellar helped expand and strengthen OLP’s Hispanic community. He established the parish’s first Spanish Mass at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in September 2024. It has grown from 12 churchgoers to more than 140. The priest united the community through a December procession through the city streets for Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Mexican Catholic devotion, and has encouraged other lively, colorful devotions, such as Our Lady of Altagracia, a Dominican devotion. He also brought the OLP parish together for a Christmas party.
Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure’s has been expanding its digital presence. The parish recently launched a young adult ministry that has attracted about 40 members and become the largest of its kind in the diocese. St. Bonaventure’s has a Spanish Mass at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Raysa Gonzalez, a lector for OLP’s Spanish Mass, was involved in roundtable discussions about the merger. A lifelong churchgoer, she didn’t feel connected to her faith until she started attending the parish’s Spanish Mass. Her son also enjoys attending the liturgy.
“In his homilies, Father Manuel relates the Gospel by giving examples from real life. It helps me understand the message of the bible,” said Gonzalez, who called the merger process “a little scary, but we have faith and pray. Everything has been wonderful. Everybody is trying to do their part to connect with each other and grow together as one family.”
Last year, parishioners voted to choose the name of the new faith community: St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Padre Pio (1887–1968) was an Italian Capuchin priest renowned for his intense prayer, stigmatization, and service to the suffering. Father Nevitt said the name “recounts Padre Pio’s bilocation, an evocative sign as we unite two churches within one parish.”
“In proposing St. Pio of Pietrelcina, we express our desire to form a community of deep sacramental life and missionary outreach — one that inspires every generation, including young people and families, through a clear witness of holiness, Eucharistic devotion, and prayerful charity,” Father Nevitt wrote in a letter about the new name to Bishop Sweeney.
Temporarily, St. Pio’s staff will work from St. Bonaventure’s offices, while clergy will live in St. Bonaventure’s rectory. Eventually, the OLP rectory will be renovated into St. Pio’s offices, and St. Bonaventure’s rectory will be renovated into St. Pio’s rectory. Father Nevitt will assist Father Cuellar, a fellow 2019 ordination classmate, with technology upgrades, a new website, and a new logo featuring a smiling St. Pio.
The two parishes represent more than 260 years of service to the area —150 at St. Bonaventure’s and 110 at OLP. St. Bonaventure’s, the diocese’s second-oldest parish, was founded when Franciscan Friars arrived in Paterson from Germany in 1876. Bishop Sweeney assigned Father Nevitt to help transition St. Bonaventure’s to a diocesan parish after the Franciscan Friars announced they were leaving, citing manpower shortages, in 2024.
In 1916, OLP was started as a mission of St. Michael Parish in Paterson to serve the Italian community. Msgr. Hundt became pastor of OLP and St. Gerard’s in July 2024, before the Franciscans left St. Bonaventure. The populations of OLP and St. Bonaventure’s were both declining, and OLP was also facing financial struggles.
Msgr. Hundt praised the decision to keep both churches open, which provides more room for St. Pio Parish. Merger discussions became more relaxed once parishioners were reassured that neither church would close, he said.
“The challenge was helping people realize we’re moving toward something important, but that it’s going to involve letting go of part of their experience of community,” Msgr. Hundt said. “There’s a certain dying that has to take place in both communities to rise to the new parish of St. Padre Pio. It takes a lot of grace for God to help us let that happen. I think they’re doing that beautifully.”
For Mass times and other information, visit piopaterson.org as of April 12.
– Located only three blocks apart, St. Bonaventure and Our Lady of Pompei (OLP) parishes brought Christ’s love to the people of the Stoney Road section of Paterson, N.J., as separate faith communities for more than 260 years combined. The churches are so close that each parish can hear the other’s church bells from its front steps. So it might seem providential that on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, these two parishes, each with its own history and traditions, will merge into a single parish under a new name: St. Pio of Pietrelcina — also known as “Padre Pio” — Parish.
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. March 31: The galaxy’s Great Bird April’s evenings kick off with a Full Moon, which occurs at 10:12 P.M. EDT tonight. The April Full Moon is also called the Pink Moon, after the wildflowers that begin to run rampant as spring begins. Continue reading “The Sky Today on Wednesday, April 1: A Full Pink Moon and a double star”
The post The Sky Today on Wednesday, April 1: A Full Pink Moon and a double star appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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NASA astronaut Jessica Meir shared this photo of an Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station’s cupola on X.
Read More![Trump to continue supplying Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year – #Catholic – The Trump administration, citing legal challenges, said it will continue to give Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year — a move pro-life leaders see as a “betrayal.”The administration first restored Biden-era Title X funds to Planned Parenthood in January, to the outcry of pro-lifers. News broke March 31 that the administration would extend the grants for another year, just a day before they were set to lapse.Thanks to the grants, Planned Parenthood and some other clinics will continue to be able to submit reimbursement receipts to the federal government for low-income patients who received birth control and other non-abortion services.While grants won’t directly cover abortion — the Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from doing so — grants will subsidize an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions yearly.A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the agency will issue Title X grant notices for 2027 “matched with agency priorities.”The Trump administration had initially paused the grants in 2025, but after facing legal challenges from Planned Parenthood, HHS released the grants in January. Most pro-life groups decried the decision, though a few defended it by saying it was the administration’s only viable option as 42 U.S. Code Part 300, the rule governing family planning grants, had not been amended.National pro-life groups have denounced the decision to keep funding Planned Parenthood. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the move “an inexplicable slap in the face to the pro-life GOP base.”“This is a clear abandonment as the first Trump administration enacted the Protect Life Rule to stop Title X funding of Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “It should have been ‘Day 1’ policy in the second administration. Instead, we are 14 months in and this hasn’t been prevented.”Dannenfelser called the move “political suicide.”“Three out of four GOP base voters support defunding Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “One-third of those voters say they’d be less enthusiastic about voting this November if the GOP abandons pro-life policies.”“This comes on the heels of the administration undermining GOP states by allowing the shipping of abortion drugs into their borders, violating their laws,” Dannenfelser continued. “And it comes after the president suggesting the GOP should be ‘flexible’ on the Hyde Amendment. This spells disaster for November.”Jennie Bradley Lichter, who heads the March for Life, said that “funding Planned Parenthood is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Making America Healthy Again.”“Absolutely maddening that [the HHS] is continuing to fund an org whose business model is built on ending human lives, misleading pregnant women into thinking abortion is their only option, and delivering substandard health care even in the rare cases when abortion is not involved,” Lichter said in statement provided to EWTN News.Live Action called on the Trump administration to reverse the decision.“The Trump administration has decided [to] CONTINUE supplying Title X funds to Planned Parenthood,” the statement read. “This is the largest abortion corporation in the country. They don’t need our tax dollars. They don’t deserve our tax dollars. This decision MUST be reversed.”“Over 400,000 unborn children are killed by this corporation every year, making them the largest abortion chain in America,” Live Action President Lila Rose said. “The blood of these babies cries out. Taxpayer dollars should never fund the killing of innocent human beings.”“The Trump administration’s decision to keep Title X federal funding going to Planned Parenthood is unacceptable,” Rose said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to prop up America’s largest abortion business. Planned Parenthood exists to end the lives of preborn children, and every dollar it receives helps sustain an industry built on violence against the innocent.”“This decision is a betrayal of the pro-life Americans who expected this administration to stand firmly against abortion and against the forced public funding of those who commit it,” Rose continued. “The American people should not be made to subsidize abortion businesses under the guise of women’s health. Title X funds should go to real health care providers that serve women and families without taking innocent human life. The administration should reverse course immediately and fully defund Planned Parenthood.”Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/trump-to-continue-supplying-title-x-grants-to-planned-parenthood-for-another-year-catholic-the-trump-administration-citing-legal-challenges-said-it-will-continue-to-give-title-x-grants-to-plann.jpg "Trump to continue supplying Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year – #Catholic – The Trump administration, citing legal challenges, said it will continue to give Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year — a move pro-life leaders see as a “betrayal.”The administration first restored Biden-era Title X funds to Planned Parenthood in January, to the outcry of pro-lifers. News broke March 31 that the administration would extend the grants for another year, just a day before they were set to lapse.Thanks to the grants, Planned Parenthood and some other clinics will continue to be able to submit reimbursement receipts to the federal government for low-income patients who received birth control and other non-abortion services.While grants won’t directly cover abortion — the Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from doing so — grants will subsidize an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions yearly.A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the agency will issue Title X grant notices for 2027 “matched with agency priorities.”The Trump administration had initially paused the grants in 2025, but after facing legal challenges from Planned Parenthood, HHS released the grants in January. Most pro-life groups decried the decision, though a few defended it by saying it was the administration’s only viable option as 42 U.S. Code Part 300, the rule governing family planning grants, had not been amended.National pro-life groups have denounced the decision to keep funding Planned Parenthood. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the move “an inexplicable slap in the face to the pro-life GOP base.”“This is a clear abandonment as the first Trump administration enacted the Protect Life Rule to stop Title X funding of Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “It should have been ‘Day 1’ policy in the second administration. Instead, we are 14 months in and this hasn’t been prevented.”Dannenfelser called the move “political suicide.”“Three out of four GOP base voters support defunding Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “One-third of those voters say they’d be less enthusiastic about voting this November if the GOP abandons pro-life policies.”“This comes on the heels of the administration undermining GOP states by allowing the shipping of abortion drugs into their borders, violating their laws,” Dannenfelser continued. “And it comes after the president suggesting the GOP should be ‘flexible’ on the Hyde Amendment. This spells disaster for November.”Jennie Bradley Lichter, who heads the March for Life, said that “funding Planned Parenthood is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Making America Healthy Again.”“Absolutely maddening that [the HHS] is continuing to fund an org whose business model is built on ending human lives, misleading pregnant women into thinking abortion is their only option, and delivering substandard health care even in the rare cases when abortion is not involved,” Lichter said in statement provided to EWTN News.Live Action called on the Trump administration to reverse the decision.“The Trump administration has decided [to] CONTINUE supplying Title X funds to Planned Parenthood,” the statement read. “This is the largest abortion corporation in the country. They don’t need our tax dollars. They don’t deserve our tax dollars. This decision MUST be reversed.”“Over 400,000 unborn children are killed by this corporation every year, making them the largest abortion chain in America,” Live Action President Lila Rose said. “The blood of these babies cries out. Taxpayer dollars should never fund the killing of innocent human beings.”“The Trump administration’s decision to keep Title X federal funding going to Planned Parenthood is unacceptable,” Rose said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to prop up America’s largest abortion business. Planned Parenthood exists to end the lives of preborn children, and every dollar it receives helps sustain an industry built on violence against the innocent.”“This decision is a betrayal of the pro-life Americans who expected this administration to stand firmly against abortion and against the forced public funding of those who commit it,” Rose continued. “The American people should not be made to subsidize abortion businesses under the guise of women’s health. Title X funds should go to real health care providers that serve women and families without taking innocent human life. The administration should reverse course immediately and fully defund Planned Parenthood.”Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.")
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said the agency will issue Title X grant notices for 2027 “matched with agency priorities.”
The pope expressed hope that President Donald Trump is seeking a way to decrease violence in the Middle East.
A reading from the book of Isaiah
50:4-9a
The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
From the Gospel according to Matthew
26:14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
The betrayal of Judas remains, in any case, a mystery. Jesus treated him as a friend (cf. Mt 26: 50); however, in his invitations to follow him along the way of the beatitudes, he does not force his will or protect it from the temptations of Satan, respecting human freedom. In effect, the possibilities to pervert the human heart are truly many. The only way to prevent it consists in not cultivating an individualistic, autonomous vision of things, but on the contrary, by putting oneself always on the side of Jesus, assuming his point of view. We must daily seek to build full communion with him. Let us remember that Peter also wanted to oppose him and what awaited him at Jerusalem, but he received a very strong reproval: "You are not on the side of God, but of men" (Mk 8: 33)! After his fall Peter repented and found pardon and grace. Judas also repented, but his repentance degenerated into desperation and thus became self-destructive. For us it is an invitation to always remember what St Benedict says at the end of the fundamental Chapter Five of his "Rule": "Never despair of God’s mercy". (Pope Benedict XVI – General Audience, 18 October 2006)
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![Catholic priest fundraises, gives gift cards to unpaid TSA workers amid partial shutdown - #Catholic - A Catholic priest raised money and gave gift cards to employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) while a partial government shutdown forced most of the workforce to work without pay.Father Jim Sichko, a papal missionary of mercy, held a 24-hour fundraiser for the workers that he advertised across social media platforms, raising about $20,000. The act coincided with his effort to perform random acts of kindness for those in need.Some of TSA’s funding is on hold as lawmakers debate broader funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees TSA. Democrats are trying to include reforms to immigration enforcement in the funding package as Republicans are resisting any language that could curtail President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.Trump signed an executive order on March 27 to provide some back pay to TSA employees, and future payments remain in limbo amid the congressional deadlock.
Father Jim Sichko delivers gift cards to TSA agents while they worked without pay amid congressional funding negotiations. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Jim Sichko
Sichko, who travels frequently by air, told EWTN News he delivered gift cards to TSA workers during flights he already scheduled. He gave a bundle of gift cards in denominations of $10 and $20 to workers in Lexington, Kentucky, and Chicago, providing a total of $11,000 worth of gift cards to employees.The donated gift cards comply with federal regulations that prohibit employees from accepting direct cash gifts but allow them to accept small amounts of money in gift cards for restaurants, grocery stores, and a few other products.Sichko is holding onto the remaining $9,000 because TSA workers have begun to receive back pay. He plans to resume gifting the rest of the gift cards to TSA workers if their pay is disrupted again. Otherwise, he said he will probably donate them to Catholic Charities.“It was a justice issue for me,” Sichko said when asked why he decided to launch the fundraiser for TSA employees.“They’re working, with families who need to be fed, bills that need to be paid, utilities that [are] … due and, as a priest, as a person of God, I think it’s my duty to help them,” he said. “... These people were working without pay and they have families and they already are in a stressful job.”Sichko said he relies on TSA for his ministry because he frequently travels by airplane, and these employees are “keeping me safe to be able to do the ministry to which I’m called.” He said he considers TSA workers “partners with me in the ministry to which I am called because they keep me and my fellow passengers safe.”He thanked those who contributed to the fundraiser and said the acts of kindness are “a way of evangelizing.” He said the fundraising “allows people the opportunity to be co-ministers, to really fulfill their baptismal promise of being ministers.”“To see how people responded, it really shows us that we truly can be kind, we truly can be Christ to one another,” Sichko said.During the previous government shutdown, when TSA employees were working without pay, Sichko provided them with meals.Sichko often raises money to perform other acts of kindness and to help people in need. This includes help to those affected by hurricanes in southeast Texas, flooding in eastern Kentucky, tornadoes in western Kentucky, and fires in eastern Tennessee.He has also raised money to support the cost of funerals for people, including the children and workers who died in the July 2025 flooding of Camp Mystic in central Texas.“This is part of the ministry of being a papal missionary of mercy,” Sichko said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/catholic-priest-fundraises-gives-gift-cards-to-unpaid-tsa-workers-amid-partial-shutdown-catholic-a-catholic-priest-raised-money-and-gave-gift-cards-to-employees-of-the-transportation-security-ad.jpg)
Father Jim Sichko raised $20,000 for gift cards for TSA workers while they were working without pay amid congressional negotiations about funding.
With 12 private beaches, endless aquatic adventures, and possibly the warmest hospitality on the planet, it’s no wonder Turtle Island is so difficult to leave.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/TAL-header-aerial-turtle-island-fiji-TURTLEISLANDFIJI1125-119dd7d5236247ffa7289531c0bb8f0b.jpg)
In the wake of a major airline crash, it’s not unusual for the carrier’s CEO to resign, especially if there were signs that corporate culture may have played a hand in it.
The post Air Canada CEO Out After Crash — For Not Offering Condolences in Second Language appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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This is a Gateway Hispanic article.
The post Alberta Surpasses 177,000 Signatures, Officially Triggering Its Independence Referendum for October 19th appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A Florida Democrat has been arrested after allegedly attacking a man identified as a disabled veteran during a “No Kings” protest on Saturday.
The post Democratic Party Official Arrested After Allegedly Injuring a Disabled Veteran at a ‘No Kings’ Protest appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A Nigerian archbishop said African missionaries can evangelize a Europe uneasy with its Christian past.
“I’m glad I found my way back to the Church. I learned much along the way. But if you believe as I do, you know I’ve been fortunate and touched by God’s grace,” Vance said.
![Bishop to Harding faithful: walk with Mary to Calvary #Catholic - Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concluded the Wednesday Lenten Series of Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., where he celebrated Mass on Feb. 25 and reflected on the Blessed Mother’s critical role in salvation history.
During the Mass on Feb. 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bishop Sweeney reminded churchgoers that Jesus came down to Earth, fully God and fully human, to ultimately suffer, die, and rise to save believers from their sins. That occurred in part because of Mary’s “fiat”— her “yes” — to God’s plan of salvation after the Angel Gabriel announced the Incarnation of Jesus, Bishop Sweeney said.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney referred to the Angelus prayer for the feast day and the Office of Readings for the day from the breviary, including a letter by Leo the Great (Epist. 28 ad Flavianum 3-4: PL 54, 763-767).
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Bishop Sweeney encouraged the faithful this Lent to walk with Mary, “the mother of sorrows,” at the foot of the cross during her son’s crucifixion on Calvary.
“She leads us to her son, who comes to us in the Eucharist and who conquered sin and death in his resurrection, and gives us the promise of everlasting life in heaven,” Bishop Sweeney said.
The other speakers in the series were Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Msgr. John Hunt, pastor of Assumption Parish in Morristown, N.J., and director of the Clergy Personnel Office of the Paterson Diocese; Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard Majella and Our Lady of Pompei parishes, both in Paterson, and Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and diocesan vicar for special projects.
At the Mass, Father Brian Sullivan, Christ the King’s pastor, and Maryknoll Father Joseph “Joe” Healey, a former African missionary, concelebrated with Bishop Sweeney. Also, Luke Simonson received a gift for altar serving at all five Masses during this year’s Lenten Series.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bishop-to-harding-faithful-walk-with-mary-to-calvary-catholic-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-concluded-the-wednesday-lenten-series-of-church-of-christ-the-king-in-the-new-vernon-neighborhood-of-harding-t.jpg)
Bishop to Harding faithful: walk with Mary to Calvary #Catholic – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concluded the Wednesday Lenten Series of Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., where he celebrated Mass on Feb. 25 and reflected on the Blessed Mother’s critical role in salvation history.
During the Mass on Feb. 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bishop Sweeney reminded churchgoers that Jesus came down to Earth, fully God and fully human, to ultimately suffer, die, and rise to save believers from their sins. That occurred in part because of Mary’s “fiat”— her “yes” — to God’s plan of salvation after the Angel Gabriel announced the Incarnation of Jesus, Bishop Sweeney said.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney referred to the Angelus prayer for the feast day and the Office of Readings for the day from the breviary, including a letter by Leo the Great (Epist. 28 ad Flavianum 3-4: PL 54, 763-767).
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Bishop Sweeney encouraged the faithful this Lent to walk with Mary, “the mother of sorrows,” at the foot of the cross during her son’s crucifixion on Calvary.
“She leads us to her son, who comes to us in the Eucharist and who conquered sin and death in his resurrection, and gives us the promise of everlasting life in heaven,” Bishop Sweeney said.
The other speakers in the series were Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Msgr. John Hunt, pastor of Assumption Parish in Morristown, N.J., and director of the Clergy Personnel Office of the Paterson Diocese; Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard Majella and Our Lady of Pompei parishes, both in Paterson, and Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and diocesan vicar for special projects.
At the Mass, Father Brian Sullivan, Christ the King’s pastor, and Maryknoll Father Joseph “Joe” Healey, a former African missionary, concelebrated with Bishop Sweeney. Also, Luke Simonson received a gift for altar serving at all five Masses during this year’s Lenten Series.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concluded the Wednesday Lenten Series of Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., where he celebrated Mass on Feb. 25 and reflected on the Blessed Mother’s critical role in salvation history. During the Mass on Feb. 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bishop Sweeney reminded churchgoers that Jesus came down to Earth, fully God and fully human, to ultimately suffer, die, and rise to save believers from their sins. That occurred in part because of Mary’s “fiat”— her “yes” — to God’s plan of salvation after the Angel Gabriel