Religion News

JERUSALEM (AP) — On the Saturday before Easter , thousands of Christians gather in the cavernous Church of the Holy Sepulcher for a centuries-old ceremony known as the Holy Fire.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 90 people in 48 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday, as Israeli troops ramp up attacks to pressure Hamas to release its hostages and disarm.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance met Saturday with the Vatican's No. 2 official amid tensions over the U.S.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For more than 400 years, Catholic and Orthodox churches have used different ways to determine the date of Easter.

ATLIXCO, Mexico (AP) — Every year, crowds fill the streets of the central Mexican town of Atlixco on the Catholic holiday of Good Friday to witness the sight.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 25 people on Friday including children, hospital workers said, as the new U.S. ambassador to Israel made his first public appearance in Jerusalem.

CHIMAYÓ, N.M. (AP) — A unique Holy Week tradition drew thousands of Catholic pilgrims to a small adobe church in the hills of northern New Mexico, in a journey on foot through desert badlands to reach a spiritual wellspring.

ROME (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday for a second day of talks on tariffs and then attended Good Friday services at the Vatican amid speculation of a possible pope greeting this weekend.

SOLON, Maine (AP) — From the outside, it looks like any other New England church building: a boxy, white structure with a single steeple surrounded by an old stone wall, set against rolling hills and pine forest.

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Authorities investigating why a man set fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence are probing whether the suspect was motivated by the Democrat's Jewish faith or positions on Israel’s war in Gaza.