Following their plenary assembly earlier this month, bishops from the Anglican Ordinariate list seven distinctive traits of their spiritual and pastoral heritage, including lay participation, commitment to the poor, and the family as domestic church.

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The Principality of Monaco is preparing to welcome Pope Leo XIV. “Small nations,” notes the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, “prove to be natural guardians of multilateralism.”

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In this week’s news from the Eastern Churches, produced in collaboration with L’Œuvre d’Orient we look ahead to Easter in the Holy Land, where celebrations are being compromised by the ongoing war in the Middle East.

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Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Monaco, the CEO of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation reflects on its significance and shared values. She highlights the Foundation’s global mission to prevent drowning and promote human development through sport and education.

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Fr. Roberto Pasolini, Preacher of the Papal Household, delivers his Lenten meditation and reflects on the theme “The freedom of the children of God: Perfect joy and death as a sister,” recalling the final stages of the earthly journey of St. Francis of Assisi, who learned “to accept his own fragility” and smallness.

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The Most Revd Dame Sarah Mullally will be received by the Pope during her visit to Rome from 25 to 28 April. The announcement comes two days after her official installation as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Palm Sunday procession at the foot of an 85-foot-tall Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square recalls the martyrdom of many early Christians and the fast-thinking foresight of an Italian Renaissance sea captain.

Palm Sunday at the Vatican begins with a procession of young people carrying olive branches and large green palm fronds, followed by clergy holding tall, intricately woven palm leaves. The participants circle the base of the obelisk in the center of the square, while the pope blesses them with holy water.

Starting the ceremony in the center of the square recalls the martyrdom of the early Christians because the 2,000-year-old solid granite obelisk marks the center of a grand arena built in 37 AD by the Roman emperor Caligula. Later, emperors introduced the execution of Christians as a form of entertainment there and St. Peter was among those martyred in the arena. 

To mark the place where many early Christians shed their blood, in 1586 Pope Sixtus V ordered that the same obelisk Caligula brought to Rome from Egypt be erected in the square.

Because the obelisk weighs 327 tons, it took 900 men and 140 horses working 44 winches to move and hoist it into place. Given the difficult and delicate nature of the task, Pope Sixtus forbade onlookers from making any noise as the obelisk was being pulled upright; those who failed to comply would face the death penalty.

According to tradition, Captain Benedetto Bresca, an experienced northern Italian seafarer, was watching in the square that day, and he saw the hemp ropes supporting the obelisk giving way from the excessive strain. 

Defying the pope's orders for absolute silence, Bresca shouted out in his Ligurian dialect, "Aiga ae corde," that is, "water on the ropes" to make them shrink, become stronger and keep them from fraying and snapping. The workers did as they heard and the obelisk did not come crashing to the ground.

Though Bresca was arrested on the spot, Pope Sixtus immediately pardoned him and showed his gratitude by asking him what he would like to have as a reward.

According to legend, Bresca asked that he and his descendants be appointed the official supplier of the pope's palm fronds. His wish was granted and he was allowed to fly the papal naval flag on his boat as it entered the Tiber River when he shipped the palm leaves from the Ligurian coastal city of Sanremo to Rome.

The long tradition of delivering palm fronds from Sanremo to be woven in Rome by Camaldolese nuns ended in the 1970s.

With the help of a palm tree research group, a cooperative in Sanremo revived the tradition in 2003 by supplying "palmurelli," which are palm leaves braided and styled in intricate shapes and patterns, for the Palm Sunday procession.

Other groups in Italy help supply regular palm fronds and tens of thousands of small olive branches for the faithful gathered in the square.

During the Chrism Mass in Timor-Leste's Dili Cathedral, Archbishop Virgílio do Carmo da Silva invites clergy and faithful to rediscover their vocation, unity, and mission rooted in Christ.

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After meeting with Pope Leo XIV, the Presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious speaks to Vatican News about the situation of immigrants in the United States, synodality, and the involvement of women in the Church.

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Teresa Morris Kettelkamp steps down from her role as Adjunct Secretary for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors due to family reasons, expressing her support for the Church's work to safeguard children.

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