Rome

In the spotlight: Pet blessing, Afghan refugees, Father Kapaun funeral

With Italy on lockdown and Rome streets almost deserted, Pope Francis left the Vatican March 15 in a mini-pilgrimage to an icon and to a crucifix associated with miraculous interventions to save the city and its people.

Visitors and pilgrims to churches, museums and landmarks in Rome have sharply declined following an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in northern Italy.

The bishops of every diocese in the United States have prepared detailed reports on the life of the Catholic Church in their dioceses as part of their visits “to the threshold of the apostles.”

Recalling Jesus’ death on the cross, Pope Francis led thousands on Good Friday in reflecting on the crosses of loneliness, fear and betrayal that crucify countless men, women and children in the world.

While Rome always has been a city of beauty that highlights both the past and the present, a quaint and unusual bar nestled in the heart of the Eternal City has taken that concept to new heights.

A French biblical scholar not only wrote the meditations to guide Pope Francis’ 2017 celebration of the Via Crucis at Rome’s Colosseum, she also designed her own set of Bible-based Stations of the Cross.

While visiting Vatican offices, speaking to Catholic movements and following the footsteps of the early Christians, a group of transitional deacons from St. Paul, Minnesota, was in Rome getting an inside look into the church’s mission in the world.