The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season leading to Easter on Wednesday without the participation of Pope Francis, who is in the third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

Just before Easter last year, Francis declined to attend a Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum in a bid to conserve his health, but the pope later led tens of thousands of worshipers in ...

a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church’s solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April. The Vatican ...

How is Easter celebrated around the world? 8 surprising traditions from Spain, France, Germany and more - Have you ever ...

Christian and Catholic holidays will be especially busy times to visit Rome, with papal masses at Easter expected to draw crowds of one to two million.

The 40-day season of Lent began as Christian faithful around the world celebrated Ash Wednesday in preparation for Easter in ...

This time of year sees an emptied out city and slashed room rates – with the exceptions of Christmas in December and Easter in March or April. In January, historically Rome's coldest months ...

But the outlook is much better for the eastern Mediterranean, particularly Italy and Greece which will enjoy the driest and warmest weather over Easter. Rome and Palermo will both be hot and sunny ...