Switch off smartphones to make 'space for silence' in Lent

Thousands convene in Assisi to pray before bones of St. Francis on first day of historic viewing

Nearly 400,000 people are expected to venerate the saint's relics while on public display through March 22.

Pope Leo XIV begins Lenten spiritual exercises led by Bishop Erik Varden Bishop Erik Varden, a Cistercian from Trondheim, Norway, is leading the Lenten spiritual exercises for the Roman Curia, which are taking place Feb. 22–27 at the Vatican. Pope says switch off smartphones to make 'space for silence' in Lent At the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV also urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine as the war approaches its fourth year, insisting peace “cannot be postponed.” Pope Leo XIV: Freedom is fulfilled by saying yes to God During a Lenten pastoral stop near Rome’s Termini station, the pope joked that he once considered joining the Salesians: “They came in second place, sorry!”

From a call to bring the Bible to Chinese hearts to resisting communism’s rise A 50-year-old Italian priest arrived in Singapore in 1955 with a vision to counter communism through Catholic social teaching — and planted seeds still blooming today.