The Norwegian Trappist bishop of Trondheim was chosen by Pope Leo XIV to preach at the Lenten retreat in the Pauline Chapel.
Lent
Posted inPodcasts
Pope Leo’s first Lent begins
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Senior Vatican Correspondent Gerard O’Connell and Contributing Editor Ricardo da Silva, S.J., discuss the Vatican’s decision not to join President Trump’s Board of Peace, Pope Leo’s Lenten message, and the pope’s plans for the first Lent since his election last May.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo on Ash Wednesday: It’s ‘rare to find adults who repent’
“How rare it is to find adults who repent — individuals, businesses and institutions that admit they have done wrong,” Pope Leo said in his homily in the Basilica of Santa Sabina.
Posted inThe Good Word
You can’t preach salvation without explaining sin
Here is the church’s great doctrine on sin: It is, as we say, “original.” It is larger than us, inherent in the life to which we are born, the humanity we join. We are sinned against before we ever decide to sin.
Posted inThe Good Word
Remembering your Baptism on Ash Wednesday
Many of us were baptized as infants, so we have no memory of the event. A real memory of the day would mean so much! In a way, that is what Ash Wednesday offers us.
Posted inFaith in Focus
Move over Christmas carols. It’s time for Lent’s greatest hits.
Lenten music and hymnody aim to lift us up and call us back to the two primary themes of this season of preparation for Easter.
Posted inShort Take
Lent and Ramadan: a time for Catholic-Muslim solidarity amid rising bigotry
The confluence of Lent and Ramadan occurs as bigotry and discrimination against American Muslims are once again surging.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo XIV explains why Catholics fast during Lent
The ancient practice of fasting from food during Lent can free us from complacency and lead us to “hunger” for God, Pope Leo XIV said in his 2026 Lenten message.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Spain’s Holy Week confraternities celebrate the Jubilee year in Rome
Spain’s confraternities often make headlines in the foreign press as their Holy Week processions have become a tourist attraction, demonstrating the complex reality of their fame.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
‘Why them and not me?’: Pope Francis after Holy Thursday prison visit
Asked how he was living this Easter period, given his condition and convalescence, Pope Francis replied, “As best I can!”