His Holiness Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first from Latin America, died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.

This Easter, make sure to take a moment with your family to thank Jesus for his amazing sacrifice.

We will soon commemorate Good Friday. This is the day when the whole world stands still. We will recall the great Sacrifice offered on the second tree on Golgotha's Hill. There, the one St. Paul calls the New Adam (1 Cor.15), in the perfect obedience of love, did for us what we could not do on our own. There, Heaven was wed to earth. There, we were freed from the power of sin and death.

On Good Friday we are reminded that death is no longer the final word. For those filled with hope of the Resurrection, it is no longer an enemy but a friend, the passageway to life eternal. We are also promised that the suffering we are invited to bear, when joined to Jesus Christ, can become a vehicle for love and mercy. It can also become material out of which we are changed, by grace, into a reflection of Mercy Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, for others.

The Easter Bunny is a symbol of Easter that is popular in western culture, especially with children. According to folklore, the Easter Bunny hides Easter eggs for children to find on Easter morning. However, the association between a rabbit and the resurrection of Jesus Christ appears tenuous at best, and the Easter Bunny has been accused of having pagan origins. But what is the truth?

"Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance. Gradually, on either side of this source, the year is transfigured by the liturgy" (Catechism of the Catholic Church) .

Why did Jesus wash the Disciples' feet? It seems like such a humiliating task, yet it's also personal, almost intimate. That Jesus performed this task as one of His last acts on Earth delivers an important message of how we are supposed to be as Christians. Are we willing to wash the feet of our neighbors? Help Keep Catholic Online Free

As we enter into these three days, the one day, we make this mystery our own. No mere spectators in this Act of Love we become participants. We who bear the name "Christian" are to pick up that basin and towel, to climb upon that Cross and learn to live the Way of Love in service. Our faith and love are to be active and incarnate. Jesus washes his disciples feet, using our hands. We make the mystery real in a world that awaits the fullness of redemption. God is Love and Love is a Verb.

With Palm Sunday right around the corner, Catholics across the globe will soon be handed leaves as they walk into church. Some might fold them into elaborate little crosses. Kids will poke each other with them. But it's safe to say most won't know where they came from.