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The definitive guide to Holy Week

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By Lorene Hanley Duquin

(OSV News) — What are you doing for Holy Week?

It’s OK if your Holy Week list includes coloring eggs, cleaning and baking for Easter, shopping for new outfits, traveling to a relative’s home or going on a spring vacation. There’s nothing wrong with secular Easter activities.

But it’s important to keep in mind that there is also a profound spiritual basis for the holiday celebration.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and ends at sundown on Easter Sunday.

Our remembrance of the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus makes Holy Week the most sacred time of the year for Catholics.

How will you balance the sacred part of Holy Week with all of the other things you will be doing? All of it is important in your life and in the lives of your family members. But keeping a balance between the spiritual and the secular will require a little planning on your part.

Start by making a list of everything that needs to be done during Holy Week. Then block out time in your busy calendar for attending Holy Week liturgies. Be sure to set aside specific times every day during the week for Lenten devotions, quiet prayer, Scripture reading and meditation.

Your greatest temptation will be scrimping on your spiritual needs because there is so much going on! If you let that happen, your Easter celebration may look perfect on the surface, but will feel spiritually unsatisfying.

— Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, the Sixth Sunday of Lent, marks the beginning of Holy Week. The Mass on this day commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem when people waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna.”

Before Mass begins, palms are blessed, and there is a procession that symbolizes the beginning of the spiritual journey into the Paschal Mystery that will unfold throughout Holy Week.

During the Mass, the full Gospel account of the passion and death of Jesus is read. The priest usually takes the lines attributed to Jesus. Several lectors take other parts. The people in the pews read the lines attributed to the crowd.

The Mass continues with the celebration of the Eucharist.

People are encouraged to take the blessed palm branches home where they can be fashioned into crosses or placed behind a crucifix.

The blessed palms that are left in the church are burned and used for ashes the following year on Ash Wednesday.

— Monday of Holy Week

The Gospel reading this day, John 12:1-11, recalls the woman who anointed Jesus with oil.

— Tuesday of Holy Week

Today’s Gospel — John 13:21-33, 36-38 — offers a hint of the events to come as Jesus predicts the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter.

— Wednesday of Holy Week

This day is traditionally referred to as “Spy Wednesday” because it recalls the decision of Judas to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

— The chrism Mass

During Holy Week, bishops bless sacred oils in the diocesan cathedral at a special liturgy known as the chrism Mass.

The oil of chrism is used during baptisms, confirmation, ordination and the consecration of altars. The oil of catechumens is used at the Easter Vigil. The oil of the sick is used to anoint people during the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.

The oils are then distributed to the parishes for sacramental celebrations throughout the year.

As part of the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, the renewal of priestly promises was incorporated into the chrism Mass.

The chrism Mass is an ancient celebration that traditionally takes place on Holy Thursday morning. But in recent years, many dioceses celebrate the chrism Mass on an evening earlier in Holy Week so that more people can attend.

— Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper commemorates the Passover meal that Jesus shared in the Upper Room with the apostles on the night before he died. Before the meal, he washed their feet to impress upon them the call to serve others. The church recognizes the Last Supper as the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

During the meal, Jesus also instituted the Eucharist by transforming bread and wine into his own body and blood.

After the meal, Jesus went to Gethsemane where he suffered the agony in the garden, the betrayal of Judas and the brutality of being arrested.

The Mass of the Last Supper is a dramatic liturgy with the priest washing the feet of 12 parishioners.

After Communion, the altar and sanctuary are stripped and there is a procession with the Blessed Sacrament, which is taken to a separate altar of repose, usually located on a side altar or in a chapel. There is no dismissal or final blessing. It is the last time the Eucharist will be celebrated until the Easter Vigil.

People leave in silence, but continue to keep a vigil with Jesus in their hearts in anticipation of the events that will take place on the next day.

— Good Friday

The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday is a somber service that commemorates the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus. Because it is considered a continuation from the night before, the liturgy begins in silence. The priest enters and lies prostrate at the foot of the altar.

The service begins with the Liturgy of the Word, which includes a reading about the suffering servant in Isaiah, a psalm, a reading from the book of Hebrews, and the account of the passion and death of Jesus from the Gospel of John. During this part of the liturgy there are special prayers for all the people in the world.

The second part of the liturgy is the veneration of the cross, an ancient practice that allows each person to touch or kiss the instrument of torture that leads to salvation.

The third part of the liturgy is a Communion service with hosts that were consecrated the night before. Afterward, the tabernacle is left empty and open. The lamp or candle usually situated next to the tabernacle, denoting the presence of Christ, is extinguished.

People leave the church in silence, but continue to keep a vigil with Jesus, who has entered the tomb and will rise on the third day.

— Good Friday fasting regulations

Only one full meal is permitted on Good Friday for Catholics between 18 and 59. Two smaller meals are allowed, but they should not equal a second full meal. Drinking coffee, tea and water between meals is allowed, but eating snacks between meals is not.

All Catholics who have reached the age of 14 must abstain from meat on Good Friday.

— Easter Vigil

In the first century, the early Christians celebrated every Sunday in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus. By the second century, they established a particular day for the celebration of the resurrection, which was connected to the Jewish Passover.

Their observance began at sundown on Saturday evening. They called it the Night of the Great Vigil, a time of remembrance and expectation that lasted throughout the night so they could sing “alleluia” at dawn on Easter morning. It was during the Night of the Great Vigil that new Christians were received into the church.

By the fourth century, it became customary for people to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate what was called the “Great Week,” which included Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. The diary of a woman named Egeria in 381 contains the first accounts of the special rites, prayers and devotions that took place in Jerusalem during the Great Week.

Over time, the practice of observing Holy Week spread throughout the Christian world, with prayers, historical re-enactments and special liturgies. During the Middle Ages, the celebration of the Easter Vigil gradually fell out of practice. The important days of the week were Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

In 1955, the Vatican reestablished the Easter Vigil as an important part of Holy Week observances.

During the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the bishops called for the restoration of the early Christian rituals for receiving new Christians into the church at the Easter Vigil. In 1988, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults was issued.

Today, the Easter Vigil begins the Easter fire, the lighting of the paschal candle, the reading of salvation history, the celebration of the sacraments of initiation for catechumens and renewal of baptismal promises for the faithful is once again an integral part of Holy Week celebrations.

As with Good Friday, the celebration begins in silence with people waiting in darkness.

The first part of the Vigil is the Light Service, which begins outdoors with the Easter fire and the lighting of the paschal candle. The candle is carried into the dark church as a symbol of the Light of Christ, a powerful reminder that Jesus is light in the darkness.

The individual candles, held by people in the pews, are lit from the paschal candle. By the time the procession reaches the altar, the church is bathed in candlelight.

The Exultet, an ancient song of proclamation that gives thanks and praise to God, is sung.
During the Liturgy of the Word, Scripture readings and psalms help people reflect on all of the wonderful things God has done throughout salvation history.

Then the baptismal water is blessed, the candidates and catechumens receive the sacraments of initiation, and the congregation renews baptismal vows.

During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, people share in the body and blood of Christ.

The mystery and ritual of the Easter Vigil touch the deepest part of people’s souls with elements of darkness, light, silence, music, fire, water and oil, along with bread and wine that become the body and blood of the risen Lord. They are reminded that new life in Christ can never be overcome by darkness or death.

— Easter Sunday

For the early Christians, the celebration of Masses on Easter morning developed as a way to accommodate people who were unable to attend the Easter Vigil.

Today, Easter Sunday Masses are joy-filled celebrations of the risen Lord with the singing of the Gloria and alleluias, the renewal of baptismal vows, and a sprinkling with Easter water. After sharing in the Eucharist, people go forth strengthened in faith to serve the Lord and one another.

Easter Sunday marks the beginning of the Easter season, which will last the next 50 days and include the celebration of Jesus’ ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

(Lorene Hanley Duquin is a Catholic author and lecturer who has worked in parishes and on a diocesan level.)

Give alms and financially fast this Lent

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By Phil Lenahan , OSV News

(OSV News) — In word and deed, Pope Francis continues to encourage Catholics to reach out to the poor and not succumb to a consumerist mentality where what we have is deemed more important than who we are. The season of Lent provides a special opportunity to take the Holy Father’s words to heart and live them out more fully.

Lent is a time to meditate more deeply on the life of Christ, especially on his passion and crucifixion. By better understanding and appreciating the love he has for us, the more able we are to respond to him with love.

U.S. dollars are seen in this illustration photo. (OSV News photo/Yuriko Nakao, Reuters)

The church provides traditional Lenten practices that help us focus on our relationship with Christ. “The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the church’s penitential practice,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works)” (No. 1438).

While the primary emphasis of these practices are spiritual, you will be surprised at how much they enhance your ability to fulfill your daily responsibilities as well — not just during Lent but throughout the year. Since my focus is on personal finances, I’d like to discuss how two of these practices can assist you in becoming a better steward of providence.

The first is fasting. One of the most common difficulties Americans have with their finances is living beyond their means. This tendency is linked to our fallen nature. The catechism describes it this way: “Our thirst for another’s goods is immense, infinite, never quenched” (No. 2536).

The ramifications of our overspending are great and are apparent at the national, state, local and personal levels. Overspending leads to a failure to save, leaving future obligations unfunded. It also leads to unproductive debt, which creates major obstacles to having a successful financial future.

Fasting provides a discipline that helps us corral this tendency to overspend. It promotes temperance, which “is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable” (CCC, No. 1809).

While the church requires fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, many faithful practice it on a more regular basis. They recognize how it builds their character not only in the virtue of temperance, but in other virtues as well.

The second Lenten practice I want to touch on is almsgiving. Generosity is a key part of our Christian journey, having a direct impact on our relationship with God and neighbor. With American Catholics giving about 1% of their income to charity, it’s clear that our practice is to give from what’s left over rather than following the Scriptural principle of giving from our first fruits (Prv 3:9).

Renewing our commitment to almsgiving in a special way during Lent stretches our ability to love. Tobit 12:8-9 says, “It is better to give alms than to store up gold, for almsgiving saves from death, and purges all sin.”

Just as fasting strengthens the virtue of temperance, almsgiving builds the virtue of charity. I encourage you to make both of these practices part of your Lenten plan in a meaningful way. Most importantly, they will lead to spiritual closeness with our Lord. Secondarily, they will help you become a more effective manager of your finances and a better steward of providence. Those are benefits worth pursuing throughout the year!

(Phil Lenahan is chief financial officer and treasurer of Catholic Answers.)

50 days of Easter spirit

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By Lorene Hanley Duquin ,

(OSV News) — Most people don’t think in terms of Easter spirit. Yet the Easter season is a time that is filled with a spirit of joy and hope.

During the 50 days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday, we proclaim and sing the word “alleluia,” which means “praise the Lord.” We are reminded that Jesus has overcome death. We are given the assurance that our lives have meaning and purpose. And we have the promise of eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

Christ’s entry into Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion is depicted in a stained-glass window at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Centereach, N.Y. Palm Sunday, also known Passion Sunday, commemorates the event and marks the beginning of Holy Week. It is observed March 24 in 2024. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Now that’s something to celebrate. But there’s even more!

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised his disciples they would never be alone, because he would send the Holy Spirit to guide them. Then he commissioned his followers to spread his message all over the world and make disciples of all people.

Ten days later, on Pentecost Sunday, the apostles heard a loud noise, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them in tongues of fire. When that happened, they received spiritual gifts that transformed their lives and gave them the power to touch the lives of others. They ran into the streets and began to tell people about Jesus. Each person in the crowd understood them in his or her own language. Thousands became believers that day.

So, Easter spirit is more than just experiencing joy and hope. It’s also a special call to share the Easter message with others.

Good news is contagious. Here are ways you can spread the good news this Easter season:

— Host a neighborhood gathering on Sunday afternoons. As the weather warms up, send the kids out to play and meet and greet the people who live next door. Ask everyone to bring a dish or beverage to share. What a great way to live out Jesus’ command to “love our neighbor.”

— Make Friday night movie night. Pick your favorite streaming service and watch a movie as a family every Friday night through the Easter season. Eat popcorn and movie snacks and talk about the takeaway lessons each person learned from the show.

— May Day basket. Put together a small basket or box of goodies and deliver it to neighbors, shut-ins, grandparents or a young couple with a new baby. Be sure to stay anonymous — leave the basket on the front steps, ring the doorbell and run. Kids can make homemade greeting cards or cookies, or pass on a gently used toy that they’ve outgrown. Pluck some flowers or herbs from your spring garden, add a prayer card and all of a sudden you can be spreading the good news of Easter joy.

(Lorene Hanley Duquin is a Catholic author and lecturer who has worked in parishes and on a diocesan level.)

Heading to the National Eucharistic Congress in July? Here’s what to expect

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By Maria Wiering ,

(OSV News) — The tens of thousands of Catholics planning to attend the five-day 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July will experience large-scale liturgies, dynamic speakers, and opportunities for quiet prayer and faith-sharing, with six different “impact session” tracks tailored to their peer groups or faith journey.

Leaders hope attendees become “a leaven for the church in the United States as Eucharistic missionaries going back to their parishes, but also sort of a gathering of people who are standing in the breach, or in proxy, for the entire church across the United States, inviting that new Pentecost, and that new sending (of) healing and life to the full,” said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., in a January meeting with media.

The event is the pinnacle of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops to inspire a deeper love for Jesus in the Eucharist that began in 2022. The revival focused its first year on dioceses, the second and current year on parishes, and the final year, beginning after the congress, on “going out in mission.”

Catholic leaders have described the National Eucharistic Congress as potentially transformational for the Catholic Church in the U.S.

“I believe this event and the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage leading up to it will have a generational impact on our country,” wrote Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, and chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., in a commentary published by OSV News in January.

The congress will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, and the adjacent Indianapolis Convention Center. The congress distinguishes itself from other Catholic conferences because it “invites the entire church to come to pray together for revival,” said Joel Stepanek, the National Eucharistic Congress’ vice president of programming and administration.

“We’re going to gather with those there to pray for the Holy Spirit to fall on us, to pray for revival in the church in the United States, to pray for healing in our own lives so we might be Eucharistic missionaries, and we’ll do that through powerful experiences of prayer and with the encouragement of a wonderful keynote speakers,” Stepanek said.

Registration is open for full-event and single-day passes at eucharisticcongress.org/register.

The congress’ theme is centered on Luke 24, which describes Jesus meeting two disciples on the road to Emmaus following his death and resurrection. The disciples did not recognize him at first but listened to him explain Scripture, only to later realize their companion was Jesus during their evening meal “in the breaking of the bread.” They raced back to Jerusalem to tell others what they had seen.

Day one, Wednesday, July 17, is themed “From the Four Corners.” The congress is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. that day with an opening ceremony in Lucas Oil Stadium. The evening’s speakers include Bishop Cozzens; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S.; and Sister Bethany Madonna, a Sister of Life who is the local superior and mission coordinator of the sisters’ Phoenix foundation.

Day two, Thursday, July 18, is themed: “The Greatest Love Story.” The morning schedule begins with 8:30 a.m. Mass, with options to worship in English or Spanish, including an additional Mass for youth.

Mass is followed by impact sessions, where attendees can choose from six options with “dynamic preaching and music tailored to their state in life and mission,” according to the congress’ website. Following lunch are breakout sessions and “special experiences” tailored for specific groups or interests.

The evening includes a three-hour “revival session” with Father Francis “Father Rocky” Hoffman, Relevant Radio’s CEO and executive director, leading a Family Rosary Across America live from Lucas Oil Stadium. Father Michael Schmitz, host of the popular podcast “The Bible in a Year,” also will speak.

Day three, Friday, July 19, is themed “Into Gethsemane.” Friday’s schedule mirrors Thursday’s, with morning Mass and impact sessions, afternoon breakout sessions and an evening revival session with the Family Rosary Across America’s keynote speaker Sister Josephine Garrett of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Day four, Saturday, July 20, is themed “This is My Body.” Saturday’s morning and early afternoon schedule follows the order of the previous days. In the mid-afternoon, attendees will form a large Eucharistic procession in downtown Indianapolis, which Stepanek described as “a profoundly impactful experience.”

“A lot of folks who will be out on a Saturday afternoon in downtown Indianapolis will encounter the Lord and will receive the witness that we have, as a Catholic community, of prayer and joy in that city,” he said. “It’s really one of the biggest outward facing pieces of the congress itself.”

The evening includes a revival session featuring the Family Rosary Across America and speakers Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; Mother Adela Galindo, founder of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary religious order and lay Apostles of the Pierced Hearts; and Gloria Purvis, host of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast.” Musician Matt Maher will lead worship.

Day five, Sunday, July 21, is themed “To the Ends of the Earth.” The morning schedule begins with a revival session with speaker and author Chris Stefanick, founder and president of Real Life Catholic, followed by the revival’s closing liturgy celebrated by a papal delegate, with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

“This is our big commissioning as a Catholic community, where we will go forward then and take what we have been entrusted with as being part of this experience back to our homes, our communities, our schools, our parishes and our families to really be that salt and leaven in the world that is in need of the joy that we’re going to bring,” Stepanek said.

The congress’ main events will be emceed by Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News; Sister Miriam James Heidland of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity; and Father Josh Johnson, a speaker, author and priest of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dave Moore, co-founder of Catholic Music Initiative, will provide music throughout the congress.

The morning impact sessions planned for days 2-4 are organized into six tracks: Encounter, Encuentro, Empower, Renewal, Cultivate and Awaken.

Encounter is the group of general sessions held in Lucas Oil Stadium. With a focus on deepening a person’s relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist, it will feature speakers including Katie Prejean McGrady, Sister Mary Grace Langrell, Mary Healy, Edward Sri and Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers.

Encuentro sessions are in Spanish, with speakers including Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas; Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio; Andrés Arango; Mabel Suárez; Kathia Arango; and Dora Tobar.

Empower sessions are designed to be smaller and “more intimate,” with a focus on practical tools for becoming a “Eucharistic missionary” in one’s community. Speakers include Deacon Larry and Andi Oney, Father John Burns, Chika Anyanwu, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat of New York, Meg Hunter-Kilmer and Paul Albert.

Renewal sessions are for people who work or volunteer in a parish, diocesan or other ministry role “to explore new and creative possibilities of accompaniment, evangelization, and catechesis,” according to the congress’ website. Speakers include Damon Owens, Sarah Kaczmarek, Julianne Stanz and Curtis Martin.

Cultivate sessions are focused on families to attend together, with speakers including Father Leo Patalinghug and Ennie and Cana Hickman. Awaken sessions are designed for high school youth, with large-group sessions in the mornings and smaller breakout sessions in afternoons. Speakers include Oscar Rivera, Brian Greenfield and Jackie Francois Angel. Teenagers attending the sessions must be part of a youth group or accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The congress also will include an exhibit hall and a display of a replica of the Shroud of Turin, art exhibits, opportunities for confession and adoration, and music performances.

Leading up to the congress is the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a two-month pilgrimage beginning at four different points of the U.S. where groups of pilgrims will primarily walk to Indianapolis with the Eucharist in a monstrance. The congress’ opening event will include pilgrims from the four routes converging for a procession into the stadium.

Glemkowski said the congress shares the goal of the revival: “the idea that we need a spiritual movement of God in our church to bring about renewal in this time.”

“The bishops have prophetically inaugurated or invited the church to this time of encounter with Jesus, a deepened encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, which has everything to do with belief and relationship and what … (St.) John Henry Newman would call ‘real assent’ — a sacrificial gift of your heart to Jesus in the Eucharist which bears fruit for the life of the world.”

Large-scale Eucharistic congresses have been part of the fabric of devotion in the Catholic Church for nearly 150 years, and continue to be regularly convened by U.S. dioceses and in other countries. The 10th National Eucharistic Congress is the first Eucharistic congress in the U.S. 83 years, with the most recent national congress held in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1941.

The first U.S. national Eucharistic congress was held in 1895 in Washington, and subsequent congresses have been hosted by St. Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Omaha, Cleveland and New Orleans.

The U.S. also hosted two International Eucharistic Congresses in 1926 in Chicago and 1976 in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia congress drew 1.5 million people, including pivotal Catholic figures such as St. Teresa of Kolkata, Dorothy Day and a future pope, St. John Paul II. Quito, Ecuador, is hosting the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress in September.

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)

Want to join the National Eucharistic Congress? Financial aid now available

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By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – The organizers of the National Eucharistic Congress are making it easier for cash-strapped families to attend the July 17-21 gathering in Indianapolis.

The congress will cap the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year grassroots initiative launched in June 2022 and sponsored by the nation’s Catholic bishops to enkindle devotion to the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

The congress – to which young adult pilgrims will travel on foot along four cross-country routes – is expected to draw some 80,000 participants. The event is the first such national congress in the U.S. in 83 years, and in 48 years since the 1976 International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.

Now, a new “Solidarity Fund” has been unveiled by the U.S. Catholic bishops to help those in need of financial assistance to cover the registration costs of the five-day congress.

“Led by our bishops, we have raised nearly one million dollars to give away so people from all over the country can join us in Indianapolis and return home filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to bring renewal to their families, churches and communities,” Kris Frank, vice president of growth and marketing for the National Eucharistic Congress, told OSV News.

Many events during the National Eucharistic Congress will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium from July 17-21 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Picture from BigStock)

Full event passes, which do not include transportation, housing or meals, cost $360 per individual, $299 per parent and $250 per teens ages 13-18. Children age 12 and under are free.

Group fees range from $299-$349 per person, while admission for priests, deacons, seminarians and religious has been set at $299.

Attendees traveling to the congress can hope for a dip in gas and diesel prices in 2024, but airfare projections for the coming year remain mixed, with some analysts predicting slight drops but others pointing to stabilized prices that will nonetheless remain on the higher side.

With group room blocks now sold out, lodging costs at surrounding hotels are anywhere between well over $100 to more than $600 per night during the congress.

“The Solidarity Fund allows us to take the financial burden off individuals and groups to ensure this moment is affordable and accessible to anyone who wishes to join us for this historic event,” Frank said.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate financial need and be prepared to secure their own lodging for the congress. Secondary criteria include coming from an underrepresented area or group, and seeking support to bring a larger group to the gathering.

Religious, seminarians and diocesan-organized groups in those dioceses supported by Catholic Extension will be directed to apply for funding through Catholic Extension.

The online application form for the Solidarity Fund can be accessed online at eucharisticcongress.org/solidarity-fund.

Congress organizers also are accepting donations to the fund.

“The aim of the National Eucharistic Congress has always been that our church would experience profound and personal revival,” Frank said, “so that we can be sent to share Christ’s love with a world that desperately needs it.”

NOTES: To apply to the National Eucharistic Congress Solidarity Fund, visit https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/solidarity-fund.

To donate to the Solidarity Fund, visit https://pushpay.com/g/necsolidarityfund

(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X at @GinaJesseReina.)

Catholic mother of 2 killed in Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade mass shooting

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By Lauretta Brown
(OSV News) – Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Catholic mother of two and beloved disc jockey for the KKFI radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, was killed Feb. 14 amid a mass shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade.

“It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally,” the radio station announced on Facebook that Wednesday evening. “This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community.”

Lisa Lopez-Galvan, second from right, stands with her family in a photo posted to her Facebook account Sept. 26, 2022. Lopez-Galvan, a parishioner of Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish in Kansas City, Mo., was killed Feb. 14, 2024, Ash Wednesday, during a mass shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade. (OSV News screenshot/Facebook)

Lopez-Galvan was an active parishioner at Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, where she was fondly remembered by her fellow parishioners.

Ramona Arroyo, director of religious education at the parish, told OSV News that Lopez-Galvan’s whole family is “devoted to the church.” Her brother, Beto Lopez Jr., is the chief executive officer of Guadalupe Centers, one of the nation’s first social service agencies for the Latino community.

Arroyo said the loss was “devastating” to the community. “She was a beautiful person,” Arroyo said. She expressed her sympathy for Lopez-Galvan’s husband, Michael, saying, “It’s a horrible thing that happened to a good family.”

Monica Palacio, another parishioner who knew Lopez-Galvan, said the shooting was a “tragedy for our whole community because everybody knows the family” and they “grew up within blocks of each other.”
She also noted Lopez-Galvan’s role as host of Tejano Tuesdays at KKFI and as a well-known DJ presence at local weddings and quinceañeras.

“She was an amazing person,” Palacio said. “She was full of joy all the time, no matter where she was.” Palacio remembered Lopez-Galvan as the “life of the party” who “came with red lipstick and a big smile.”
The Kansas City Star reported that Lopez-Galvan, who was in her mid-40s with two adult children, died in the hospital during surgery after a gunshot wound to her abdomen.

Arroyo and Palacio said Lopez-Galvan, a known Chiefs fan, was at the parade with her family, including her son and nieces and nephews, and they had heard that other family members had been injured as well.
Father Luis Suárez, parochial administrator of Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish, remembered Lopez-Galvan in his homily at the Ash Wednesday evening Mass and encouraged the community to unite in prayer amid the tragedy.

Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Megan Marley, digital editor for OSV News, contributed to this report.

Catholic prayer app Hallow, He Gets Us campaign runs faith-focused Super Bowl commercials

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By Maria Wiering
(OSV News) – Super Bowl LVIII watchers can saw at least three faith-based commercials during the televised Feb. 11 showdown in Las Vegas between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Catholic prayer app Hallow plans to run a 30-second commercial featuring Catholic actors Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie. According to Hallow, the advertisement “will encourage fans to take time away from the spectacle of the big game and enjoy a moment of prayer on the Lord’s day.”

Wahlberg, who played prizefighter-turned-priest Father Stuart Long in the 2022 biopic “Father Stu,” is helping to lead Hallow’s annual #Pray40 Lent prayer challenge.

During Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers Feb. 11, 2024, the Hallow app plans to run a 30-second commercial featuring Catholic actors Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie. The app is centered on prayer and meditation. (OSV News photo/courtesy Hallow)

Pray40 also features Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the popular series “The Chosen.” Roumie voices other Hallow audio content, including the Divine Mercy Chaplet, scriptural rosary and daily Gospel readings.
“The goal at Hallow has always been to reach out to as many folks as possible, both those who take their faith seriously and especially those who might have fallen away, and invite them deeper into a relationship with God,” said Alex Jones, Hallow co-founder and CEO, in a statement announcing the commercial.

A teaser for the commercial posted on YouTube shows Wahlberg in a church dipping his hand in holy water and making the sign of the cross, and Roumie receiving ashes. Wahlberg says, “God, we take this moment,” as the screen reads, “For the first time ever, join over 100 million people in prayer during the Big Game. … Pray this Lent with Hallow.”

According to Hallow’s media statement, the commercial is expected to run “shortly before halftime.”
A recent survey by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics found that a record 200.5 million U.S. adults plan to watch this year’s game. A 30-second Super Bowl commercial spot reportedly costs around $7 million.
Launched in December 2018, Hallow has more than 10,000 guided prayer sessions. It claims to be the No. 1 Catholic app in the world, with more than 10 million downloads across more than 150 countries.

After appearing at the Super Bowl for the first time last year, ads from the He Gets Us campaign also are expected to run during this year’s game. Backed by Hobby Lobby co-founder and Christian David Green, last year’s ads presented Jesus as relatable and compassionate, and encouraged people to love their enemies.

This year’s ads – a 60-second spot followed later by a 15-second spot – focused on loving one’s neighbor as Jesus did.

Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.

Virgin Mary statue vandalized at national shrine in Washington

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By OSV Staff
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has once again been targeted by vandals. This time, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the north lawn of the basilica grounds, located in an area known as Mary’s Garden, suffered severe damage.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15, a visitor praying the rosary in the garden discovered the desecrated statue. The individual immediately alerted the basilica staff, prompting an inspection. It appeared that the Blessed Mother’s face had been deliberately struck with a hammer, and the surrounding light fixtures, meant to illuminate the path for visitors, were shattered.

A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the north lawn of the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was vandalized Feb. 15, 2024. According to the basilica’s rector, the damage appears to have been caused by a hammer and is being investigated. (OSV News photo/courtesy of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)

According to Msgr. Walter Rossi, the basilica’s rector, this act of vandalism seems to have occurred shortly before its discovery, given the routine checks performed by the security staff.
This act of vandalism echoes a disturbing pattern of disrespect towards religious symbols at the national shrine. Msgr. Rossi recalled, in a statement, a similar incident on Dec. 5, 2021, when the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, an image of the Virgin Mary located in the Rosary Walk and Garden across Harewood Avenue from the basilica, was also vandalized.

The statue vandalized Feb. 15, “Mary, Protector of the Faith” by sculptor Jon-Joseph Russo, depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the child Jesus. According to the basilica’s website, it was erected in 2000 in honor of Bishop Thomas J. Grady, the fifth director of the national shrine, who oversaw the construction of the Great Upper Church.

Msgr. Rossi expressed concern and compassion not only for the sanctity of the shrine but also for the person or people responsible for the damage. “While this act of vandalism is very unfortunate, I am more concerned about the individuals who perpetrate such activity and pray for their healing,” he said.

The basilica is the largest Roman Catholic church in North America and one of the 10 largest churches in the world. The basilica welcomes nearly a million visitors annually.

The shrine’s security team is working closely with the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the vandalism and bring those responsible to justice. Sources tell Our Sunday Visitor that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime. The Metropolitan Police Department has not yet returned Our Sunday Visitor’s request for comment.

New study examines common features in some families where children grew into Catholic adults

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By Lauretta Brown
(OSV News) – Only about 15% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic said they had remained practicing Catholics attending weekly Mass into adulthood, according to data from the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

But what were some of the things that distinguished the families of those children who remained practicing Catholics as adults from those who left the faith entirely? Seeking answers to this question, researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life conducted the “Future Faithful Families Project” study.

The interviews for the study were conducted with 28 individuals from June 2021 to February 2023 and included qualifying participants from past CARA surveys. The study noted “a greater lack of response from the adult children than the parents who had been interviewed,” but added that “it is well known in the social science research fields that it is often easier to recruit participation from older adults than young adults.”

A Catholic family is pictured having dinner together at their home in Valatie, N.Y. The recent “Future Faithful Families Project” study identifies families who successfully raised most — and in many cases all — of their children to a faithful adulthood. The study was conducted by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. (OSV News photo/Cindy Schultz via The Evangelist)

The study found that participants from these families generally described their households as “warmer and more affectionate than the average family.” Most of the participants also indicated “very good communication” within the family.

Another shared thread among those interviewed was having rituals of meals eaten together and prayer, with most indicating that faith was a part of family routines regardless of the routines themselves.

Additionally, all participants emphasized the importance of weekly Mass attendance and nearly all participants reported doing service work and giving to charity, with many doing so through their parish or a church organization.

Mark Gray, director of CARA Catholic Polls, co-wrote the study along with Greg Popcak, co-executive director of the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. Gray told OSV News that while the findings from these qualitative interviews were not meant to be taken as some sort of “checklist” of things to keep one’s child Catholic, parents could gain insight from the common responses.

For these families, he said, “their faith wasn’t just something that they went and did on Sunday morning; their faith was present in the household. It was present every day. It came out in conversations about the faith, with prayer, with things that are in the home.”

He also noted that when children would come to the parents with doubts about the faith, most of the parents “went on a journey with their children and said, ‘Well, let’s see why the church teaches this,’” as opposed to strictly shutting down questioning of the church’s teachings.

“It’s a lot of discussion, working through things, thinking about things rather than being this overbearing parental force,” he said.

The study also included an analysis of existing data from the General Social Survey, or GSS, going back to the 1970s, which showed a marked decline in the number of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic and stayed Catholic while still attending Mass weekly.

In the 1970s, “an average of 36% of those who were raised Catholic remained Catholic as adults and attended Mass weekly (peaking at 40% in 1977).” GSS data later showed “this average percentage declined to 32% in the 1980s, 25% in the 1990s, and 21% in the 2000s. In the 2010s, this averaged 15% and was 14% in the 2018 study.”

These numbers exclude those who converted to Catholicism but were not raised Catholic. The study also notes the large number of Catholics who have immigrated to the U.S.

Focusing on the 51% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic and had remained so between 2010 to 2018, there were some commonalities. Among weekly Mass attendees who had remained Catholic, 81% were “more likely to have been living with both parents at age 16” compared to the 72% who attend Mass less often than weekly or the 63% who left the Catholic faith.

Gray said that the families they spoke with referenced things that “any parent can do,” noting the importance of the child to see their parent be “Catholic every day of the year, not just on Sundays” and for the parent “to listen to their children and have conversations with them, and guide them through what the faith teaches and why the faith teaches it.”

(Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @LaurettaBrown6.)

Briefs

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Bishop Peter M. Muhich of Rapid City, S.D., revealed Feb. 14, 2024, that he is entering hospice due to cancer. He is pictured in an undated photo. (OSV News photo/courtesy Diocese of Rapid City)

NATION
RAPID CITY, S.D. (OSV News) – The Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, announced “with sorrow” that its shepherd, Bishop Peter M. Muhich, died Feb. 17. “Bishop Peter, 62, was in hospice care after suffering from esophageal cancer. Please continue to pray for the soul of our shepherd,” the diocese said in a statement. “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may your perpetual light shine upon him.” Funeral arrangements are pending. Two days earlier a message from the Diocese of Rapid City called for a novena for their bishop Feb. 15-22, the feast of the chair of St. Peter. “In our prayers for Bishop Peter leading up to this feast, we are also giving thanks for his leadership and imploring the Lord that we may enjoy this leadership for more years to come,” it said. On Feb. 14, Bishop Muhich had announced he was moving into hospice treatment, and planned to offer his suffering from cancer to increase devotion to the Eucharist. “I have reached another step along my journey with cancer. Despite the best efforts of my health care team, all treatment options have been exhausted and there is no more that can be done without causing greater harm to my system,” Bishop Muhich said in an announcement released by the diocese. On Feb. 15, a message from the Diocese of Rapid City called for a novena for their bishop Feb. 15-22, the feast of the chair of St. Peter.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSV News) – The Nashville Diocese announced Feb. 9 that Father Juan Carlos Garcia, a former associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, who was ordained nearly four years ago, has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple sex abuse charges. A Williamson County grand jury indicted the priest on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery. The Nashville Diocese removed Father Garcia from his parish post and from public ministry in January while the Franklin Police Department investigated reports of sexual misconduct. The police began their investigation of Father Garcia after representatives of the Nashville Diocese contacted the police department to provide information it had received regarding alleged misconduct. He was booked into the Williamson County Jail Feb. 9 and as of midday Feb. 13, he remained in custody. Father Garcia, ordained to the priesthood in 2020, was assigned to St. Philip in July 2022. In early November, St. Philip officials reported to the Diocese of Nashville Safe Environment Office that a teen in the parish had made a report of improper touching involving Father Garcia. Per diocesan protocols, a report was immediately made by the diocese and St. Philip representatives to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The second assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality will meet Oct. 2-27 and will be preceded by several formal studies coordinated by the synod general secretariat working with various offices of the Roman Curia. The Vatican announced the dates for the assembly Feb. 17, indicating that the desire of some synod members to spend less time in Rome was not accepted. The fall assembly will be preceded by a retreat for members Sept. 30-Oct. 1, the Vatican said. And in response to a formal call by members of the first assembly of the synod, Pope Francis has agreed to the establishment of “study groups that will initiate, with a synodal method, the in-depth study of some of the themes that emerged.” In a chirograph, or brief papal document, released Feb. 17, the pope said that “these study groups are to be established by mutual agreement between the competent dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the General Secretariat of the Synod, which is entrusted with coordination.” However, the papal note did not list the topics to be studied nor the members of the groups. The synod office said it hoped the approved groups and their members could be announced by mid-March.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – One day, Jesuit Father Jorge Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis, wanted to make sure a group of visitors did not go home hungry, so he whipped up a huge omelet loaded with onions and potatoes. One of those guests, Claudio Perusini, who still remembers that meal fondly, was in Rome for the canonization of Argentina’s first female saint Feb. 11. It was his inexplicable recovery from a devastating stroke in 2017 that became the second miracle needed for the canonization of Blessed María Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known as Mama Antula. Perusini met the pope when he was 17 on a trip with five others for an ordination. After the ordination, then-Father Bergoglio, who was provincial superior of the Jesuits, invited the group “to the residence of the Catholic university, where he cooked us an enormous omelet with 30 eggs,” onions and potatoes, he told the Punto Medio program on Radio2 in Argentina.

“He divided it into six and served each of us, and since then I have been friends with him,” he told the radio in late October after the Vatican announced Pope Francis had approved the miracle attributed to the intercession of Mama Antula. The last time Perusini saw the pope was in 2014 when he and his wife, María Laura Baranda, had an audience at the Vatican. “I brought him ‘dulce de leche,’ ‘alfajores’ (cookies) from Santa Fe, drawings from my children and craft beer that I make,” he told the radio. The pope gave away the food, but not the beer, he said.

WORLD
LVIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches the two-year mark, the Knights of Columbus are calling for nine days of prayer to end the bloodshed. The national chaplains of the Knights in Ukraine, Metropolitan Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy of the Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Odesa, recently announced a “Novena for Peace and Healing in Ukraine.” In their joint appeal, the bishops invited “the brotherhood of the Knights and people of good will around the world” to begin the novena on Feb. 15, nine days ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty on Feb. 24, 2022. The war has been declared a genocide in two collaborative reports by the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights. Szymon Czyszek, director of international growth in Europe for the Knights of Columbus, previously told OSV News that his organization’s members are “doing heroic work, and they are willing to risk their lives to bring aid to people in places like Avdiivka and … other villages that (are) close to the front line.” To date, the Knights have provided close to $22.4 million in aid to Ukraine, even as their organization, along with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, was outlawed by a Russian occupation official in the Zaporizhzhia region.

MAKURDI, Nigeria (OSV News) – Nigeria is one of the countries in the world with the best Mass attendance. As many as 94% of self-identified Nigerian Catholics surveyed said they attend weekly or daily Mass, according to a study published in early 2023 by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The World Values Survey, which conducted the poll, doesn’t survey all countries in the world, but among those asked, Nigerian Catholics had the highest Mass attendance, followed by Kenya (73%) and Lebanon (69%). At the same time, both Christian Concern and Open Doors, organizations that track Christian persecution in the word rank Nigeria as one of the worst countries for Christians to live in after North Korea, and followed by India, Iran, China, Pakistan and Eritrea as top countries for Christian persecution. Father Moses Iorapuu, director of social communications for the Diocese of Makurdi, said that Christianity should continue to grow in an environment as hostile as Nigeria, because “this is the mystery of our faith: The blood of the martyrs remains the seed of Christianity.” Nigeria’s Intersociety advocacy group said over 100,000 unarmed and defenseless citizens have died directly or indirectly outside the law in the hands of security forces in the past eight years, between August 2014 and December 2023. Emeka Umeagbalasi, director of Intersociety, said the killings are part of a government agenda to “Islamize Nigeria.”

VALPARAISO, Chile (OSV News) – Since wildfires devastated areas in the province of Valparaíso and other regions of Chile early February, authorities and international agencies have multiplied their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the communities. OSV News spoke with Lorenzo Figueroa, director of Caritas Chile, about what he called a tremendous catastrophe, saying that in addition to at least 131 lives lost, the number of those missing and the extent of the damage has yet to be determined. “There is talk of up to 20,000 houses affected,” said Figueroa, for whom psychological damage is also a determining factor during and after these emergencies. Figueroa highlighted the community’s participation in the recovery and assistance efforts amid this natural and human tragedy. “Their knowledge, their experience. They know their territory and are active protagonists,” he explained. And after the emergency aid organizations leave “the community is no longer the same because they remain organized” to face emergencies, he added. For Figueroa, the support of other organizations is fundamental, not only financially but also in terms of experience, training and human resources, which add up when it comes to providing the necessary support to the victims. “The action of Caritas all over the world is an expression of humanitarian action in which we express ourselves as a family and the help of CRS and USAID allows us to take care of our common home, our people and those most in need,” Figueroa said.