Europe News

Dutch flowers decorate St. Peter’s Square for Easter Sunday Mass 2019.

How the tradition of Dutch flowers at the pope’s Easter Mass was saved

Apr 20, 2025

By Hannah Brockhaus

Dutch flowers adorn St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday. Here’s how the 37-year tradition was saved in 2022. Read more

According to Stephen de Silva, St. Albans Cathedral’s longest-serving guide of more than 45 years, religious brothers who lived in the cathedral’s abbey in the 14th century invented the original hot cross bun for both charitable and catechetical reasons.

The surprising Catholic origins of England’s hot cross bun

Apr 18, 2025

By Kristina Millare

The origins of the hot cross bun traditionally made with currants, spices, flour, and eggs are closely linked to a... Read more

The Mystery of the Brotherhood of San Benito processes through the surroundings of the cathedral of Seville on Holy Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

Iconic Holy Week processions in Seville vividly portray the Passion

Apr 17, 2025

By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú

The Holy Week processions in the Andalusian capital are one of Spain’s most iconic traditions, and this year was no... Read more

Susan Smith (left) and Marion Calder, co-directors of For Women Scotland, with campaigners celebrate outside the U.K. Supreme Court in London on Wednesday April 16, 2025, after the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act were ruled to refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

Britain’s highest court rules in favor of biological women

Apr 16, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that only biological women are protected under Britain’s Equality Act, contradicting prior guidance by... Read more

Father Paul Murphy exits the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Thursday, April 10, 2025, after giving a victim impact statement in a sentencing hearing for a boy who stabbed him.

Army chaplain in Dublin court forgives, embraces teen who nearly killed him

Apr 16, 2025

By Patrick J. Passmore

The attack occurred on Aug. 15, 2024, as the priest returned to his barracks in Renvyle in Ireland after an... Read more

The Catholic Church in France will welcome a record number of adults into the faith in 2025, with particularly strong growth in the numbers of young adults and teenagers, according to newly released statistics from the country’s Conference of Bishops (CEF).

Social media and personal research driving France’s record baptism boom, survey reveals

Apr 16, 2025

By Heather Tomlinson

The Catholic Church in France will welcome a record number of adults into the faith this weekend with strong growth... Read more

Father Antonio Aurelio is vicar general of the Trinitarian order.

Trinitarians, guardians of persecuted Christians: ‘We were born to go to the dungeons’

Apr 15, 2025

By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú

The Trinitarian order was founded at the end of the 12th century to free persecuted Christians. Today, it continues to... Read more

The Diocese of Westminster, which includes much of the capital city London, said it had 252 catechumens and over 250 candidates, making a total of over 500 to be received into the Catholic Church at Easter — the most seen since 2018.

Surge in adults entering Church in England this Easter prompted by internet, tradition

Apr 14, 2025

By Heather Tomlinson

Almost all English dioceses reported a significant increase in both catechumens and candidates at the Rite of Election at the... Read more

The choir, clergy and guests stand during the ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre-Dame of Paris Cathedral on Dec. 7, 2024, in Paris.

Record number of adult baptisms in France shows surge among youth

Apr 12, 2025

By AC Wimmer

The French Catholic Church will welcome more than 10,384 adult converts at Easter baptisms this year, marking a 45% increase... Read more

The exterior of St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham.

Gothic Revival cathedral in Nottingham to shine again with historic grant

Apr 12, 2025

By Andy Drozdziak

Nottingham’s St. Barnabas Cathedral in England has been awarded an approximately $2.2 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund... Read more

Panelists at the “Family Formation and the Future” international conference April 1-2, 2025, at the Danube Institute in Budapest, Hungary, discuss the crises affecting the family.

Experts meet in Budapest to discuss existential crisis affecting the family in the West

Apr 9, 2025

By Solène Tadié

The “Family Formation and the Future” conference hosted by the Danube Institute in Budapest, Hungary, April 1-2 focused on the... Read more

The Kerygma Center for the New Evangelization offers a program that brings nonbelievers closer to God, especially baptized persons who had been living far from their faith.

New evangelization program aims to awaken dormant faith

The center proposes a “re-evangelization” aimed particularly at those who, despite having faith, have not experienced “a living and personal... Read more

The British Parliament building in London.

Catholic medical group: ‘Impossible’ to ensure safeguards with UK assisted suicide bill

Apr 8, 2025

By Tessa Gervasini

The bill would “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with... Read more

The Cathedral Church of St. Barnabas in Nottingham, England, U.K.

Catholics now outnumber Anglicans among Gen Z in the UK, study suggests

Apr 8, 2025

By Jonah McKeown

A report from the Bible Society, a U.K. charity that translates and distributes the Bible, found that the practice of... Read more

A fishing boat returns to Bridlington Harbor after a day at sea on Jan. 31, 2025, in Bridlington, England. Bridlington is the leading shellfish port in Europe.

Catholic sea ministry calls for regulators to promote human rights, labor protections

Apr 7, 2025

By Daniel Payne

Stella Maris, a U.K.-based Catholic seafarers ministry, is calling on regulatory authorities to push for better labor conditions for workers... Read more

A liturgical procession outside the Freiburg Cathedral on Nov. 17, 2024.

German diocese allows use of ‘gender star’ symbol in messaging for certain ministries

Apr 5, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week. Read more

The Valley of the Fallen.

Tallest cross in the world will remain despite Spanish ‘resignification’ project

Apr 5, 2025

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

The 492-foot cross at the Valley of the Fallen, the world’s tallest, will remain standing. Read more

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool, England.

Pope appoints Bishop John Sherrington as new Liverpool archbishop in England

Apr 5, 2025

By AC Wimmer

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop John Sherrington, an auxiliary of Westminster known for his work on moral issues, as the... Read more

Livia Tossici-Bolt speaks to the media after being found guilty of two charges of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order at Poole Magistrates’ Court on April 4, 2025, in Poole, England.

Woman convicted for silently holding sign outside UK abortion clinic

Apr 4, 2025

By Heather Tomlinson

The case provides further evidence of an erosion of freedom of expression in the United Kingdom, which has recently become... Read more

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline has been elected president of the French bishops’ conference, succeeding Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort as the Catholic Church in France continues responding to revelations of sexual abuse.

Cardinal Aveline elected president of French bishops’ conference

Apr 3, 2025

By AC Wimmer

The 66-year-old cardinal from Marseille will take over leadership of the French episcopate in July as the Church continues implementing... Read more