VATICAN CITY -- The coronavirus is not some form of divine punishment but a tragic event that, like all suffering in one's life, is used by God to awaken humanity, said the preacher of the papal household.

VATICAN CITY -- With Holy Week celebrations closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis postponed the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land to September.

The annual Good Friday procession through downtown Toronto streets is another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you read this we will be in the last few weeks of our Lenten promises. If you are like me you have probably slipped once or twice.

The following is an edited version of the Easter message from Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops:

VATICAN CITY - The cross serves as a warning to the powerful and a message of hope for the poor and oppressed, said the preacher of the papal household.

JERUSALEM - For four decades, Mousa Kamar has taken his place at the head of the heavy wooden cross used during the Franciscan Good Friday procession on the Via Dolorosa.

Do not be afraid, the angel said to the frightened women at the empty tomb. Do not be afraid, the risen Christ told His anxious disciples behind locked doors.

The story of Good Friday feels even more real when you’ve lived it, even if it’s only in a play. 

Nicodemus is the organization man who realizes his organization does not have the answers. So, he looks further afield. You are not supposed to do that, but he does it anyway. His heart hungers for more than arid policies, and what do you know, but he finds that something more.

Pope Paul V was a controversial leader in turbulent times. His biography cites a fondness for luxury, penchant for nepotism and persecution of Galileo, but also lauds his completion of St. Peter’s Basilica, contributions to education and the arts, encouragement of New World missionaries and the canonization St. Charles Borromeo.

For almost half a century nothing has defined the historic parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Toronto’s Little Italy as much as the annual Good Friday procession which attracts 70,000 people every year.