Palm branches, cries of hosanna: As in the rest of the world, Palm Sunday was the start of Holy Week for Catholics in Iraq. In Malabrwan, a small Christian village in the north of the country dozens of children gathered in the Chaldean parish church holding palm and olive branches to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. They listen to the Gospel and they sing songs. Happiness can be seen on their faces, as can light-heartedness. But one should not be deceived: many of the children have gone through bad times.

In 1992, I was just approaching the end of my sixth year as permanent observer to the United Nations in New York. The then-secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, wanted to transfer me to Brazil.

The Holy See’s Diplomatic Service, like those of most countries, seeks to move its ambassadors after an established period of time to stop them from “‘going native.” Cardinal Sodano, therefore, quite properly wanted me to start packing my suitcase.

Pope St. John Paul II, however, had something to say on the matter: “Martino stays in New York!”

The abouna.org site has the pleasure to post the excelling painting of artist Robert Giacaman, which represents the two new saints Blessed Marie-Alphonsine Ghattas and Blessed Mariam of Jesus Crucified Baouardy, being the major painting in modern time that unveils for the first time the canonization of the two Palestinian nuns on May 17.

The artist, Giacaman, is Palestinian from Bethlehem who studied art in Italy. He completed his painting on Tuesday March 24, 2015 at 1:48am.

The Bishop Emeritus of Novara, chosen by the Pope to write a meditation booklet for Holy Friday, said this in a statement to Vatican Radio.

My visit to the Italian capital on the first week of March was split into two parts, namely meetings in order to develop religious tourism and a meeting with the Pope in order to present to him the artistic painting of the displaced.

For the first part of the visit, I was invited by the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican touristic arm, to continue the discussion that started in Jordan in the wake of the visit undertaken by a delegation from this renowned institution to the Kingdom at the invitation of the Jordan Tourism Board and Royal Jordanian.

The Coptic Orthodox Church quickly recognized the 21 Coptic faithful beheaded by ISIS in Libya as martyrs who will be included in calendar of saints. A question arose whether the Catholic Coptic Church would give them the same status. The answer is a firm “yes,” Bishop Kyrillos William Samaan told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

Two Catholics have given their lives to prevent a bigger massacre. At the funeral, the Archbishop of Lahore called on Christians to react “with prayers only”.

Their names were Akash Bashir (19) and Zahid Yousaf (42). They are the latest martyrs of the Catholic Church of Pakistan. These are the two men who sacrificed themselves in front of St. John’s church in order to stop suicide bombers from blowing themselves up among the faithful attending Sunday mass.

On this very day, March 13, but in the year 2013, a new Pontiff stood at the podium in the Vatican and gave himself a simple name "Francis". He emerged without wearing the traditional red attires on the election day. He pointed out since the very first moment that change was coming to the Church by concentrating on the human essence rather on significant jubilations, namely the real essence of the Christian life, which is represented in the love for God and the love for the neighbors, especially the pained, the suffering, the sad, the poor and the marginalized neighbours.

What is an indulgence and what is the tradition based on? Martin Luther was scandalised by the abuse of indulgences. What is the significance of indulgences today?

The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan has expressed pride in the historic speech made by His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein to the Jordanian people. A statement released by CCSM Director Fr. Rif'at Bader said: The speech has diagnosed illness and lit the way towards the future, since the current and future eras require conversion of beautiful words into constructive deeds that add every day new brick to the structure of dear Jordanian national unity.