Catholic News

DHAKA, Bangladesh — In an industrial district 20 miles from Bangladesh's capital, Catholic migrant workers who cannot travel home for Easter are keeping the faith alive — staging a living Way of the Cross on Good Friday at a church center established for their spiritual care.

About 200 Catholics gathered April 3 at the Jesus Worker Center in the Zirani area of Gazipur to watch fellow parishioners dramatize the 14 stations, from the condemnation of Jesus to his burial and resurrection.

The participants — young men, women, and elderly Catholics who work in nearby factories — performed the reenactment at the center, which serves roughly 1,700 Catholics scattered across the surrounding industrial zone.

Binodh Bless Mardy, 28, is one of them. An Indigenous Catholic, Mardy has worked at E.O.S. Textile Mills Limited for about eight years. He tries to join the Christian community in his free time and took part in the Good Friday reenactment as a narrator.

"Since I don't get much time off during Easter and my home is far away, I try to attend all the Easter Sunday events here instead of going to my village," Mardy told EWTN News.

Mardy's home village is about 250 miles away, in Dinajpur Diocese in northern Bangladesh.

He said he is not always able to attend Mass during Holy Week before Easter. "When I get time off, I don't always get to Mass. And when I try to get time off, I can't always manage it. So I pray at home," he said.

A center for Catholic workers

The Jesus Worker Center was established in 2009 by the Archdiocese of Dhaka for the spiritual care of Catholics working in the area's garment factories and other private industries. About 1,700 Catholics live in different neighborhoods under the center's pastoral reach.

Father Biswajit Bormon, assistant parish priest at the center, said he and three other priests provide spiritual care to Catholic workers across a 20-square-kilometer (about 7.7-square-mile) area.

"Laborers come here from different parts of Bangladesh and work in different companies. Most of them do not get Sunday off, so we give them more time on Fridays," Bormon said.

During Lent, the priests visit at least seven subcenter locations to offer Mass and hear confessions. They celebrate as many of the Holy Week liturgies as possible across the area.

"Where seven or eight families can gather in a place, the priests go and celebrate the Mass and take care of them spiritually. And those who are around the center come to the center. The Way of the Living Cross is staged by those around the center," Bormon said.

'The joy of celebrating with family'

Milon Kormokar has worked in the Zirani area for about 15 years and currently works for Rahimafrooz, a Bangladeshi industrial company. He lives in a rented house with his wife and two children.

Kormokar does not go home for Easter. His home parish is the cathedral parish of the Diocese of Rajshahi, about 190 miles from Zirani — a six- to seven-hour bus journey.

His company gives one day of personal leave, but that is not enough to travel home, so he celebrates Easter at the center instead.

"There are many of us Christians here; we celebrate Easter Sunday with them, but the joy of celebrating with our families is not available with others," Kormokar said.

"Priests work very hard to take care of us spiritually. They often go door to door to check on the families, pray, and hear confessions," Kormokar told EWTN News.

Beyond spiritual care

The center's mission extends beyond sacraments. The priests also assist Catholics who are sick and help arrange accommodation for new arrivals in the area. A day care center at the Jesus Worker Center allows Catholic parents to leave their children in care while they work.

Bangladesh's roughly 600,000 Christians make up less than 1% of the country's approximately 178 million people. The Catholic community, with about 400,000 members, is the single-largest Christian group and includes a large proportion from the country's Indigenous communities.

Both Mardy and Kormokar said they believe the Church should advocate the government to declare at least two days of public holiday around Easter so that Christians who work far from home can travel to spend the feast with their families.

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VATICAN — Pope Leo XIV presided over the Celebration of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's Basilica on Good Friday during which the preacher of the papal household exhorted Christians to "approach the Lord's cross without fear."

The liturgy began with the pope lying prostrate before the cross and then unfolded in three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion.

There was no opening antiphon; the solemn liturgy began with silent prayer, the unifying thread through the entire celebration.

After the proclamation of the Gospel of John's account of Christ's passion, the papal preacher, Father Roberto Pasolini, OFMCap, delivered a homily.

'The greatest act of love'

"In a time like ours, still torn apart by hatred and violence, when even the name of God is invoked to justify wars and deadly decisions, we Christians are called to approach the Lord's Cross without fear — indeed, with full trust — knowing that it is a throne upon which one sits and learns to reign with him by placing one's life at the service of others," Pasolini said.

"If we can hold fast to the profession of this faith, then our days too will be able to give voice to the songs of both joy and suffering, that mysterious score of the Cross in which the notes of the greatest love can be clearly recognized," he continued.

The preacher recalled that the day's liturgy invites Catholics to contemplate the Passion: "Yet the Cross of Christ risks remaining incomprehensible if we look at it only as an isolated fact, as a sudden event. In reality, it is the highest point of a journey, the fulfillment of an entire life in which Jesus learned to listen to and welcome the voice of the Father, allowing himself to be guided day by day all the way to the greatest act of love."

"Jesus is the man of sorrows who knows suffering well — no violence, no resort to force, no temptation to destroy everything and start over from scratch. We know how difficult it is to embrace such a mission. We are tempted to use aggression and violence, thinking that without them nothing can ever be resolved. But only meekness is the true strength for confronting the darkness of evil," he continued.

Example of the Servant Songs

In his homily, Pasolini referred to the Servant Songs, four poetic texts found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (42, 49, 50, 52–53), which describe a mysterious figure — the "Servant"— who fulfills God's will through vicarious suffering.

"To understand this journey during the days of Holy Week, the liturgy has had us listen to the so-called Songs of the Servant of the Lord. These are poetic texts in which the prophet Isaiah sketched the figure of a mysterious servant through whom God would be able to save the world from evil and sin. Christian tradition has recognized in these songs a striking and dramatic foreshadowing," Pasolini explained.

"In the third song, a new surprise emerges: The servant wants to help, but people respond with anger and violence," Pasolini said. "Those who live in darkness do not always welcome the light, because the light also exposes what we would prefer to keep hidden — our wounds, our ambiguities."

"In the fourth song, something deeply unsettling occurs: The violence inflicted on the servant is so intense that it disfigures his face. He has no appearance or beauty, yet the servant has learned not to return the evil he has received," the preacher said.

The servant "does not resign himself to this logic [of violence]; he absorbs everything without retaliating. For this reason, he bore the sin of many," the priest explained.

For the papal preacher, the Lord Jesus "did not merely listen to these songs; he lived them intensely, with complete trust in the Father."

"We see it constantly in wars, in divisions, in wounds: evil keeps circulating because it always finds someone willing to pass it on. Jesus broke this chain by accepting what happened to him. In the Passion, he recognized the score of the songs of love and service that the Father had entrusted to him. In this way, he learned the most difficult obedience — the obedience of loving the other," Pasolini continued.

"The voice of God no longer guides us — not because it has disappeared, but because it has become just one voice among many, the others promising security and well-being," he said.

"What is missing is a word, a song capable of guiding our steps toward a more just world," he added. "And yet, if we look closely, we can glimpse a silent crowd of people who choose a different voice — a voice that does not shout, that does not impose itself by force, a quiet and persistent song that invites us to love and never return evil for evil. They do not perform extraordinary deeds, but each day they try to make their lives serve not only themselves, but others as well."

'Lay down the weapons'

Referencing the act of venerating the cross, Pasolini encouraged those present to use the opportunity to "lay down the weapons" they are holding.

"They may not seem as dangerous as those wielded by the powerful of this world. Yet they, too, are instruments of death, because they are enough to weaken, wound, and drain meaning and love from our daily relationships," he said.

"Salvation will not drop down from above, nor can it be guaranteed by political, economic, or military decisions. The world is constantly being saved by those who are willing to embrace the Songs of the Servant of the Lord as the shape of their own lives," the preacher encouraged.

"This is what the Lord Jesus did. He took the Father's will seriously, accepting it as a score to be carried out to the end, with loud cries and tears."

"Tonight we too are handed the score of the cross. We can freely accept it if we acknowledge that there is no difficulty that cannot be faced, no guilty party we must point to, no enemy who can prevent us from loving and serving."

"There is only ourselves — who, by choosing not to return evil, by remaining patient in trials, by believing in good even when darkness seems to swallow everything, can become day by day those servants the Lord needs to bring salvation into the world," he said.

This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News' Italian-language partner agency. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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VILNIUS, Lithuania — On the northern edge of Lithuania's capital, pilgrims walk a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) route known as Vilnius Calvary, a landscape of chapels, gates, hills, and a small bridge designed to reflect the topography and distances of Jerusalem's Way of the Cross.

At the center of the route stands the Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross, located in the city's Jeruzale (Jerusalem) neighborhood. Unlike the familiar 14 Stations of the Cross found in many Catholic parishes, Vilnius Calvary leads pilgrims through 35 stations, making it one of Europe's largest outdoor Stations of the Cross ensembles.

A Lithuanian 'Jerusalem' built for pilgrims

The devotion of the Stations of the Cross, strongly promoted across Europe through Franciscan tradition, developed in part as a spiritual alternative for Christians unable to make the long, costly, and dangerous journey to the Holy Land.

Vilnius Calvary gave that tradition a local form by integrating prayer with geography: Pilgrims walk a route laid across hills and valleys, with places bearing biblical names creating a pilgrimage experience shaped by movement as well as meditation.

In practice, planners modeled the route using pilgrimage accounts, devotional guides, early maps of Jerusalem, and traditions preserved by the Franciscans, who long served as custodians of holy sites in the Holy Land. These descriptions were then adapted to Vilnius' natural landscape so that pilgrims could experience the Via Dolorosa not only through prayer but also through the physical rhythm of walking, ascent, and pause.

Founded in gratitude

Vilnius Calvary took shape in the late 17th century following the wars that brought severe destruction to Vilnius and the surrounding region. At the time, Vilnius belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was seized during the mid-1600s conflicts involving Muscovite (tsarist Russian) forces. Lithuanian forces and their allies later recaptured the city, and Church leaders established the Calvary as a public act of thanksgiving for the restoration of the capital.

The project was initiated by Vilnius Bishop Jurgis Bialozoras, who allocated roughly 140 hectares of land from his Verkiai Manor estate to build a church, various chapels, and the pilgrimage path. The area was chosen because its terrain allowed for a symbolic "Jerusalem" in Lithuania: Hills were assigned biblical names such as Golgotha, Zion, and the Mount of Olives, while a nearby stream recalled the Kidron Valley.

The church and the Way of the Cross were solemnly consecrated on June 9, 1669, on the feast of Pentecost.

Why 35 stations of the cross?

The 35-station structure reflects an older "Passion route" tradition in which the devotion extends beyond the standard 14 stations. In such traditions, the pilgrimage includes additional moments associated with Christ's final hours as well as devotional scenes linked to the Church's meditation on the Passion.

In Vilnius Calvary, the route begins not with Christ's condemnation but reaches back to earlier moments of the Passion, including the Last Supper, Christ's journey toward the Mount of Olives, and his interrogation before Annas and Caiaphas.

The pilgrimage then continues through the later stages of the Passion and extends beyond the Crucifixion. It also draws meaning from the church's title, the Discovery of the Holy Cross, linking the devotion not only to Christ's suffering but  also to the Church's proclamation of the cross as the source of salvation.

Destruction and rebuilding

For centuries, Vilnius Calvary served as a major site of popular devotion, especially at Pentecost, when large crowds traditionally gathered for prayer and preaching along the route.

The site was damaged during the Napoleonic Wars, when French forces occupied the Verkiai forest area and used the church as a barracks and a hospital. Some chapels were damaged, and the church was plundered during the army's retreat following their failed invasion of Russia.

The most severe destruction came under Soviet rule. In 1962, communist authorities demolished most of the chapels, leaving only a small number of structures nearest the church intact.

After Lithuania regained independence in 1990, reconstruction began. The restored chapels were solemnly blessed again at Pentecost in 2002. Over roughly a decade, the ensemble was rebuilt with 16 masonry chapels, seven wooden gates, one masonry gate, and a bridge structure, restoring the route as a full pilgrimage path.

The church at the center of the pilgrimage

The Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross is not simply a landmark along the route. It is also the spiritual center of the ensemble and the culmination of the pilgrimage. Its position on a high hill is intended to correspond symbolically to Golgotha, and the main altar, dedicated to the crucified Christ, is treated as the central devotional point of the Way of the Cross.

The church also contains an 18th-century silver gilded reliquary containing a relic of the holy cross, which is decorated with rhinestones.

A living devotion in modern Vilnius

Vilnius Calvary remains active as a place of prayer. The route is used throughout the year for organized Stations of the Cross, including regular Friday devotions and monthly pilgrimages. The Secular Franciscans in Vilnius also unite their prayer with the Franciscans in Jerusalem, reflecting the devotion's historical connection to the Holy Land.

Elzbieta Uckuronyte, a lifelong parishioner at the church, told EWTN News that the Stations of the Cross at Vilnius Calvary had become deeply personal to her over time.

"The first time I went, I didn't fully understand it," she said. "But as my faith has grown, I've come to see the value in the discomfort — kneeling on stones, walking in rain or snow, crossing hills and streams. It isn't easy, but it reflects the hardship Christ endured, and there is a quiet beauty in that."

For many pilgrims, Vilnius Calvary offers something rare in a modern European capital: a sustained Passion pilgrimage shaped not only by texts and stations but also by distance, landscape, and public religious memory.

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Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Good Friday.

The Vatican said the pope spoke separately with both presidents on April 3. They exchanged Easter and Passover greetings. Leo also spoke with the presidents about the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and highlighted the need for continued humanitarian aid.

The Middle East and Ukraine continue to be plagued by armed conflicts. The U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran has entered a new phase with U.S. President Donald Trump this week vowing stronger military action against Iran. The Russia-Ukraine War continues to claim casualties and has entered its fourth year.

A statement from the office of the Israeli president said Herzog discussed the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran with the pope, including "the ongoing threat of missile attacks by the Iranian regime and its terror proxies against people of all faiths in the region."

The statement also said that Herzog recalled to Leo recent Iranian missile attacks on Jerusalem, and his insistence that Hezbollah continues to be a threat to stability in the Middle East.

The telephone discussions followed Leo's public plea on March 31 in which he again called for an unconditional ceasefire and expressed hopes that Trump would be "looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing." In that same plea, he also called for an Easter truce for both conflicts.

The discussion between the pope and the Israeli president also followed an incident in Jerusalem on March 29, where the Latin patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was denied access to the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday by Israeli police.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land later reached an agreement with Israeli authorities, permitting access for Church representatives to celebrate Masses and religious rites while restrictions on public gatherings remain in force.

Neither the office of the Israeli president nor the Vatican commented on whether the pope and Herzog discussed the incident in Jerusalem.

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A new study found that the Shroud of Turin — the cloth believed to have been used to bury Jesus Christ after his crucifixion — contains traces from multiple geographic regions spanning several centuries.

As originally reported by the official Vatican News outlet, the recent study, now available as a preprint, was made by several geneticists, including Dr. Gianni Barcaccia of the University of Padua.

In their study, researchers explained that DNA testing could not definitively date the Shroud of Turin but revealed its extensive handling by many individuals over its centuries-long existence. They described it as a "diverse mosaic of genetic traces," including those from the Mediterranean, India, and even from North America.

"In brief, a reappraisal of those outcomes from the analysis of the DNA traces found on the Shroud of Turin suggests the potentially extensive exposure of the cloth in the Mediterranean region," the researchers wrote. "DNA traces from various species and regions, including the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe, America, and Asia, indicate that the shroud was exposed to different environments and peoples."

The Shroud of Turin has been venerated for centuries by Christians as the burial shroud of Jesus and is among the most famous relics associated with his passion. The authenticity of the Shroud of Turin and its connection to Christ have been the subjects of scientific debate.

In 1988, researchers traced it to medieval origins around 1350, casting doubt on whether it was the actual burial cloth of Christ and on whether it came from the Holy Land.

However, the researchers assert in their recent article that the presence of H33, a rare genetic strand, supports their claim that the relic passed through the Middle East at some point in its history.

"H33 is a rare haplogroup found today mainly in the Near East, especially among the Druze, an Arabic-speaking ethnoreligious minority currently present in the Holy Land, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. In particular, the Druze population shares common genetic ancestry with Jews and Cypriots and has historically intermixed with other Levantine populations, including Palestinians and Syrians," they said.

The Catholic Church has no official position on the relic's authenticity. It is presently located at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.

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ROME — Hundreds of pilgrims in Rome visited churches to pray before special side altars containing the blessed sacrament, called altars of repose, on Holy Thursday.

The altars of repose are a popular devotion in the Catholic Church during Holy Week. The practice begins with the Mass of the Lord's Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday, when Catholics commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood.

Afterward, a priest carries the Eucharist in solemn procession from the altar where Mass was celebrated to a decorated side altar lit with candles and sometimes plants and flowers, where it remains for adoration until midnight.

In Rome, many churches open their doors at night to welcome pilgrims to pray before the Blessed Sacrament at the altar of repose.

The tradition recalls Jesus' request to his disciples to "keep watch with me" in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion.

Lucía Dero Herrero, a pilgrim to Rome from Madrid, Spain, described her experience of the tradition at the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare as a profound moment of connection with God.

"The ceremony and the church were so beautiful," Lucia told EWTN News. "It helped me to pray and to realize that this is the night it all begins. In a sense, [Jesus] has already been captured, and the next day, he will be crucified."

Many pilgrims participated in the tradition for the first time. Maureen Finnegan, a 75-year-old woman from Liverpool, United Kingdom, was one. She described visiting the altar of repose at the Venerable English College as a true testament to our faith.

"It was lovely to see the church just absolutely packed. The singing was amazing. It's certainly a different experience from back home in Liverpool. The whole thing was traditional, and I feel so privileged to have been a part of it."

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Ahead of Easter, Bishop Vitalii Kryvytski, SDB, of Kyiv-Zhytomyr in Ukraine warned against conflicts spreading to unexpected places around the world as the war in the Middle East continues unabated.

"There are people, politicians, and countries that continue to actively help our country, Ukraine, stand its ground," the bishop told "EWTN News Nightly" on April 1. "Will there be fewer such people now that the war in the Middle East has begun? Most likely, yes."

He continued: "I believe that this situation in the Middle East could demonstrate that if we do not put an end to this war and end it justly, then in reality, the conflict could spread even to countries that never even imagined it reaching them."

Christian town in Lebanon mourns father and son killed in strike

In the Christian town of Debel, Lebanon, grief deepened after an Israeli strike killed a father and his son, an attack residents described as another blow to a civilian population already living under constant fear, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sunday.

Eli Zognoun, a 27-year-old architect from Debel, said the community is reeling with shock and sorrow over the deaths, adding that the local priest called for prayers for the victims and for the protection of civilians who have stayed behind. He said the two men, George and Elie Soueid, were peaceful civilians deeply attached to their land and families and had been using the only humanitarian road open between Debel and Rmeish in an effort to return home safely.

The Israeli army and Hezbollah have been clashing for days near Debel, where more than 1,700 people still live, according to L'Orient Today, which reported that the Christian villages in south Lebanon remain mostly populated "despite the ongoing Israeli invasion and intense skirmishes with Hezbollah in many regions."

The report also said "the president of the Dibil municipal council, Akl Naddaf, told the LBCI channel that the residents had 'asked the authorities to grant them permission to move about safely, but without success.' Naddaf added that the situation in the village is deteriorating day by day and that the residents are no longer able to meet their most basic needs."

Chinese cardinal's Easter message urges hope, care for young people amid wars

Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, has called on the Chinese government to give young people who have committed minor crimes a "second chance" and for parents to protect their children from the country's competitive culture.

"Allow me to call on parents and schools to protect our children by not allowing them to go under the life-sapping and blindingly competitive culture, although a relatively small number of students may thrive in it," Chow said in his Easter Message 2026, which was addressed to the faithful of Hong Kong. Citing steadily high suicide rates among young people, Chow also called on the government to "reduce the use of 'Key Performance Indicator' (KPI) so as to allow our educators more time and space to better accompany their students." The message came as Chow noted "the spreading of hate and violence" on social media and around the world ahead of Easter.

Cameroon airport carries out test flights ahead of Pope Leo's visit

Two aircraft operated by Cameroon's national airline, Camair-Co, successfully landed at Bamenda Airport on Sunday, March 29, in a major step toward final preparations for the planned apostolic visit of Pope Leo XIV to the country planned to take place April 15–18.

"This deployment serves as a convincing full-scale rehearsal to ensure maximum safety during the visit of the sovereign pontiff, scheduled for April 16," said Adolphe Lele Lafrique, governor of the Northwest Province of the Republic of Cameroon, after the test, according to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday.

Missionaries travel 2 by 2 into Albania countryside

Missionaries with the National Direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies traveled across the the Diocese of Rrëshen to provide pastoral care to rural communities throughout March.

Traveling in pairs — one religious priest and either a religious or layperson — the missionaries traversed to rural areas across the mountains of northern Albania, where only six priests minister to a region of about 10,000 people, according to a Fides News Agency report.

"A blessing, a word of comfort, a simple gesture are essential tools that have made the mission concrete," said Father Agustin Margjoni, a Vincentian missionary and Pontifical Mission Societies national director. "In a time dominated by digital communication, human contact has once again proven irreplaceable."

Irish diocese apologizes after visiting priest says 'evil demons' cause autism

The Diocese of Kerry issued a statement after a visiting member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal said during a homily at a local parish that "evil demons" were the source of autism.

"At the recent parish mission in Boherbue Parish, a visiting missioner, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal based in Limerick, made a comment during a talk," the diocese said, according to a report from the Irish Times on Wednesday. "The remark, which referenced autism, was intended as an illustrative example but was poorly expressed and inappropriate. It was acknowledged that the comment was not appropriate, and a sincere apology was offered at the time for any hurt or offense caused."

The statement said the priest in question "deeply regrets that the remark caused upset," adding: "We again apologize to anyone who may have been hurt by it."

Church in India offers praise for country's new climate objectives

Catholic Bishops' Conference of India Chairman Bishop Allwyn D'Silva is celebrating India's new plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2070.

"I commend the government's updated climate commitments as they build on the success of surpassing renewable energy targets ahead of time and commit to increasing carbon sinks through expanded forest and tree cover," D'Silva said, according to an UCA News report Wednesday.

Under the new plan, India said it plans to achieve 60% non-fossil-fuel electricity capacity, expand carbon sinks through forests and tree cover, and reduce the intensity of emissions by 47% by 2035, the report said.

Mozambique bishop urges solidarity with flood and conflict victims during Holy Week

Bishop Osório Citora Afonso of the Quelimane Diocese in Mozambique is calling for the faithful to approach Holy Week with mercy toward those impacted by natural disasters and ongoing violence in the country.

"The celebration of Holy Week should be marked by a spirit of solidarity, especially toward those affected by the recent floods and the conflict in Cabo Delgado," he said in a March 28 statement, according to an ACI Africa report on Monday.

The bishop urged the faithful to support the vulnerable through visits, assistance, and acts of charity. "Christ walks with us," he said. "In the cross, we see the pain of families who have lost everything, the cries of children, and the exhaustion of those trying to rebuild their lives."

St. Martin's Day tradition officially recognized by German UNESCO commission

Martinsfest, held on St. Martin's Day ("Martinstag") on Nov. 11 every year, is a major cultural tradition in the Rhineland and is now officially recognized by the German Commission for UNESCO, according to a report by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News.

"The Conference of Ministers of Culture of the Länder and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media have today included five further traditions in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage," the commission announced on March 27.

St. Martin's traditions include lantern parades, traditional songs, bonfires, and the telling of the story of St. Martin. "Today, the Martin's tradition is a firmly anchored part of the public and cultural life of many places in the Rhineland," the UNESCO commission said.

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Prime Video and 5&2 Studios announced April 3 that the sixth season of "The Chosen" will be released in the U.S. and internationally exclusively on Prime Video on Nov. 15.

Season 6 of "The Chosen" will include six episodes, the first three of which will debut on Nov. 15, followed by the release of a weekly episode through Dec. 6.

The season finale will be a stand-alone theatrical release in spring 2027.

The highly anticipated sixth season will portray the 24 hours of Good Friday — culminating in Christ's crucifixion.

"Everyone knows the basics of this part of the story, but not everyone knows the 'why' of the crucifixion and the extraordinary events of these 24 hours," Dallas Jenkins, creator, writer, and director of "The Chosen," said in a press release. "We realized this not only deserved a season of television but a stand-alone full-length theatrical event as well. We wrote and filmed all of it with this in mind."

The show's star, actor Jonathan Roumie, has spoken about his experience portraying Jesus' passion and crucifixion.

"For the first few months afterwards going to Mass — and even thinking about it now — I just get weepy. I get emotional. It's hard. It's left an indelible impression on me — mentally and emotionally sharing even just a percentage, a micron of a percentage, of the Lord's passion; playing it and reenacting it has left me absolutely humbled and moved," he told EWTN News at ChosenCon on Feb. 20.

The show's cast spent three weeks filming the crucifixion in Matera, Italy, in June 2025. In a press conference held at the Vatican at the end of that time, Jenkins called the three weeks "the most challenging and difficult we had in filming," requiring him to surrender everything to Christ.

Abe Bueno-Jallad, the actor who portrays Big James, or James the Great, told EWTN News that during filming, he had "never seen the cast so focused."

He added that the actors were "all there for each other … Everybody is carrying such a heavy burden this season as an actor."

"There's just been incredible stuff happening on set. I've come back to set on days that I don't work just to watch and I've seen stuff that gives me goosebumps," he shared.

In 2025, Amazon MGM Studios and 5&2 Studios signed a deal that made Prime Video the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for "The Chosen." The deal also provides streaming rights to 5&2 Studios' future projects including "The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls," "The Chosen Adventures," and "Joseph of Egypt."

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Good Friday is considered for many one of the holiest days of the liturgical year. Part of the Triduum, Good Friday is the day the Church turns its attention to the cross on Calvary. It is the somber day Jesus Christ was crucified.

Catholic churches everywhere can be seen with a bare altar and with the door of the empty tabernacle open. As the Church mourns, Catholics are also called to solemnly observe this holy day.

Here are some ways you can solemnly celebrate Good Friday:

1. Attend the celebration of the Lord's passion at your local parish

Mass is not celebrated on Good Friday. However, Catholic churches will offer a service celebrating the Lord's passion with holy Communion and veneration of the cross. These services are normally held at 3 p.m. because that is the time Jesus died on the cross.

2. Participate in the Stations of the Cross

In addition to offering a service celebrating the Lord's passion, many parishes will also have Stations of the Cross later in the evening. This is a wonderful opportunity to meditate on the events that took place on Good Friday, which led to Jesus' passion and crucifixion.

3. Fast

Throughout Lent, Catholics are encouraged to fast on all Fridays. On Good Friday, strive to observe the obligatory full day of fasting by consuming no more than one full meal and two smaller meals that do not equal the one larger meal. In addition to fasting from food, you can also fast from social media, television, or radio in order to spend more time meditating on the significance of the day.

4. Read the Lord's passion in the Bible

If you're unable to attend a celebration of the Lord's passion or Stations of the Cross, try to find time to spend in Scripture. Jesus' crucifixion can be found in Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18, and Matthew 27.

5. Spend time in prayer

Spending time with the Lord in prayer is a great way to solemnly celebrate Good Friday. You can simply spend time speaking with Jesus or sit in silence as you allow yourself to be in his presence. Other prayers you can include are the Litany of the Passion and the Seven Sorrows of Mary. You can also pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. Or, you can begin the Divine Mercy Novena, which starts today.

This story was first published on April 7, 2023, and has been updated.

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The Good Friday Reproaches are a series of antiphons, known also as the "Improperia" or "Popule Meus" ("My People"), coming from the opening lines of the Latin text of the recitation.

Dating back to the ninth century, though not gaining a permanent place in the Roman orders until the 14th century, the Good Friday Reproaches have long been an essential part of the Roman liturgy. But they largely disappeared from many parishes following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The antiphons have, however, retained their prominence at the Vatican — and are normally chanted by the Sistine Chapel Choir during the Good Friday service in St. Peter's Basilica.

In the moment leading up to the dramatic recitation, the priest chants three times, in an increasing pitch, "Ecce lignum crucis," or "Behold the wood of the cross," each time gradually unveiling the cross that hitherto has been covered in a purple veil.

Once the crucifix is placed in a central location at the edge of the sanctuary, cast against a bare altar, the faithful are invited to kneel before — and kiss — it, a powerful remembrance of Christ's passion but also a recognition of the cross as an instrument of salvation.

During the adoration of the cross, the Good Friday Reproaches are chanted in an alternating manner between a cantor and choir. It opens: "Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi" ("My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me").

This hauntingly sorrowful and beautiful text is followed by the first reproach: "Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti: parasti crucem Salvatori tuo" ("Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt: thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior"), showcasing the world's fatal rejection of Christ despite his love and saving acts.

The following is the full text of the reproaches:

Popule meus, quid feci tibi?
Aut in quo contristavi te?
Responde mihi.
(O my people, what have I done to thee?
Or how have I offended you?
Answer me.)

Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti:
parasti crucem Salvatori tuo.
(Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt:
thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.)

Hagios o Theos.
Sanctus Deus.
Hagios Ischyros.
Sanctus fortis.
Hagios Athanatos, eleison himas.
Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis.
(O holy God!
O holy God!
O holy strong One!
O holy strong One!
O holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.
O holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.)

Quia eduxi te per desertum quadraginta annis:
et manna cibavi te, et introduxi te in terram satis bonam:
parasti crucem Salvatori tuo.
Hagios ...
(Because I led thee through the desert for 40 years:
and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land exceeding good:
Thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.
O holy God! ...)

Quid ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci?
Ego quidem plantavi te vineam meam speciosissimam:
et tu facta es mihi nimis amara:
aceto namque sitim meam potasti:
et lancea perforasti latus Salvatori tuo.
Hagios ...
(What more ought I to have done for thee, that I have not done?
I planted thee, indeed, my most beautiful vineyard:
and thou hast become exceeding bitter to me:
for in my thirst thou gavest me vinegar to drink:
and with a spear thou hast pierced the side of thy Savior.
O holy God! ...)

Ego propter te flagellavi Aegyptum cum primogenitis suis:
et tu me flagellatum tradidisti.
Popule meus ...
(For thy sake I scourged the firstborn of Egypt:
Thou hast given me up to be scourged.
O my people ...)

Ego te eduxi de Aegypto, demerso Pharone in mare Rubrum:
et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum.
Popule meus ...
(I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea:
and thou hast delivered me to the chief priests.
O my people ...)

Ego ante te aperui mare:
et tu aperuisti lancea latus meum.
Popule meus ...
(I opened the sea before thee:
and thou hast opened my side with a spear.
O my people ...)

Ego ante te praeivi in columna nubis:
et tu me duxisti ad praetorium Pilati.
Popule meus ...
(I went before thee in a pillar of cloud:
and thou hast led me to the judgment hall of Pilate.
O my people ...)

Ego te pavi manna in desertum:
et tu me cedisti alapis et flagellis.
Popule meus . . .
(I fed thee with manna in the desert:
and thou hast assaulted me with blows and scourges.
O my people ...)

Ego te potavi aqua salutis de petra:
et tu me potasti felle et aceto.
Popule meus ...
(I gave thee the water of salvation from the rock:
and thou hast given me gall and vinegar to drink.
O my people ...)

Ego propter te Chananeorum reges percussi:
et tu percussisti arundine caput meum.
Popule meus . . .
(For thy sake I struck the kings of the Canaanites:
and thou hast struck my head with a reed.
O my people ...)

Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale:
et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.
Popule meus ...
(I gave thee a royal scepter:
and thou hast given a crown of thorns for my head.
O my people ...)

Ego te exaltavi magna virtute:
et tu me suspendisti in patibulo crucis.
Popule meus ...
(I exalted thee with great strength:
and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the cross.
O my people ...)

This story was first published on Good Friday 2024 and has been updated.

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