Echoing Pope Leo XIV’s repeated calls for an end to the war in the Middle East, Archbishop William E. Lori insisted during an April 11 prayer vigil that peace is more than the absence of conflict.

For the price of a movie ticket, viewers can enjoy a brief sojourn in the Italian countryside thanks to director Kat Coiro’s romantic comedy “You, Me & Tuscany” (Universal).

Warning against an increasingly unpredictable and aggressive “delusion of omnipotence” threatening the globe, Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders and individuals to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and violence, and to start serving life.

Thousands of pilgrims are expected to gather in June in the Lithuanian capital for the sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, or WACOM, a five-day event that has previously been held in cities such as Rome, Kraków, Bogota and Manila.

Pope Leo XIV will begin his first apostolic journey to Africa on April 13, traveling more than 11,000 miles over 11 days across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.