The transition from Lent to Eastertide can be jarring. In just a week, the church marks Jesus' acclaim on Palm Sunday, agony on Holy Thursday, death on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Pope Francis sent a letter Saturday encouraging Catholics to pray the rosary throughout May. He also shared two new prayers to implore the help of the Virgin Mary during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis presided over a solemn rosary prayer in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major on Sunday evening, invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary for peace in the world amid an escalating ...