OSV News Showcase | March 29, 2024

Did you know that the crown of thorns from Jesus’ passion still exists today? It is one of the most precious relics in the treasury of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, and it was thankfully saved during the cathedral’s fire April 15, 2019.

Throughout Lent, the faithful had the opportunity to venerate the precious relic in the church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois in central Paris while cathedral restoration continues. Knights of the Holy Sepulchre have been present at the side of the crown during moments of veneration for over a century, and this week OSV News talked to one of them on the very special task of guarding the crown. This article is particularly apt for Good Friday, and I encourage you to give it a read along with the small selection of OSV News stories below.

May you have a blessed Triduum and Easter season!

Megan Marley

Digital Editor

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US bishops ask faithful to pray during Holy Week for end to Israel-Hamas war

“As the church enters Holy Week and Christ’s suffering on the cross and his resurrection are made present to us so vividly, we are connected to the very source of hope. It is that hope that spurs us to call on Catholics here in the United States and all those of good will to renew their prayers for an end to the raging Israel-Hamas war.”


Life on farm named for Dorothy Day helps Catholic couple deepen faith, ‘glorify God’

The Chapps, Oblates of St. Benedict, established the farm in 2013 with the goal of providing food for people in need served by soup kitchens and food pantries as well as a place of contemplation for visitors encouraged to follow a Benedictine spirituality.


‘We are not alone, abandoned or afraid,’ patriarch of Jerusalem says on Palm Sunday

When Christians gathered in Jerusalem to remember Jesus’ entry into the city, it was one of a few joyful moments in the Holy Land, “crushed by so much hatred” in the months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.


Marchers at Maryland March for Life call for defeat of constitutional amendment

Many of the pro-life supporters who attended the 45th annual Maryland March for Life in Annapolis March 11 know they are in for a difficult fight come November.


Bill to extend abortion limit to 18 weeks is return to barbarism, Norwegian bishop says

A proposed bill in Norway that would extend the limit women have to terminate their pregnancy to 18 weeks is a “barbaric” step away from Norway’s Christian and humanistic heritage, said Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo.


Polish church ministry for victims of abuse under political scrutiny

The Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus congregation is in the middle of a political storm in Poland as the new government questioned the funding the congregation’s ministry for victims of abuse received from the previous government.


Baltimore Archdiocese ministers to crew aboard ship involved in bridge collapse

The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Apostleship of the Sea is normally a “friendly face” for international seafarers visiting the port. That role is about to expand, according to its director, Andy Middleton, after a container ship was involved in the catastrophic collapse of one of Baltimore’s major thoroughfares.


Gallup: Just 3 in 10 US adults regularly attend religious services

The pews may be a bit more crowded at Mass this Easter — but on balance, regular church attendance in the U.S. continues to decline across the board, particularly among Catholics. Gallup poll results released March 25 show that just three in 10 U.S. adults attend religious services regularly, 21% every week and 9% almost every week.


Catholic couples struggle through an infertility care desert

“There’s a huge demand and we don’t have enough doctors right now,” said Dr. Teresa Hilgers, an OB-GYN at the St. Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.


COMMENTARY: Let’s celebrate Easter for a while

Greg Erlandson: “This year, I’m glad to see Lent come to an end, and not just because of Easter Alleluias and Cadbury dark chocolate eggs.”

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