Church in Europe

During plague, Catholic Church called on saints for help, healing
- Apr 5, 2020
The Catholic Church has had a long tradition of calling on saints and praying for their intercession in sickness and difficult times.

By Carol Zimmermann
Shroud of Turin to be shown via TV and social media for coronavirus outbreak
- Apr 4, 2020
On Saturday the bishop of Italian diocese of Turin announced that after receiving several requests, he would expose what is believed to be Jesus’s burial shroud during Holy Week, allowing believers to venerate it through television and social media.

By Elise Ann Allen
During plague, Catholic Church waived taxes, other requirements
- Apr 4, 2020
Correspondence can reveal a lot about periods of history and the letters written by popes during the Black Death are no exception. These documents, often responses to questions, provide a window into a long-ago era that is getting renewed attention amid today’s coronavirus pandemic.

By Carol Zimmermann

EU’s Christian leaders warn against ‘fear and nationalism’ during COVID-19 crisis
- Apr 3, 2020
The European Union’s top Christian leaders have called for the continent to show “our joint commitment to the European project and to common European values of solidarity and unity, instead of capitulating to fear and nationalism” during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

By Crux Staff
Italian nun channels ‘Mr. Rogers’ as coronavirus restrictions extend
- Apr 3, 2020
As anxieties over the COVID-19 coronavirus grow higher and national restrictions are extended, one Italian nun has made it her mission to bring a smile to children and their parents through a series of daily livestreamed puppet shows.

By Elise Ann Allen
Famed novel provides the priestly archetypes of Italy’s pandemic
- Apr 2, 2020
Because much of the novel unfolds against the backdrop of an outbreak of the plague, it’s no surprise Alessandro Manzoni’s famous work “I Promessi Sposi” has been much-cited over the past month, as Italy has grappled with the highest coronavirus death count in the world

By John L. Allen Jr.