– He is risen, Alleluia –
Together with The Catholic Echo staff, I’d like to wish you and yours a blessed Easter season! This issue of The Catholic Echo features Easter greetings from our advertisers, as well as plenty of editorial content to mark this joyous time.
What you’ll also notice about this issue is a large feature story smack-dab in the middle of the magazine about Saint Francis of Assisi and his influence on other saints over the ages. And there’s a good reason for that—Pope Leo XIV has declared us to be in a Jubilee Year of Saint Francis, running from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, marking the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.
This means that the Church—both universal and local—will be celebrating Saint Francis in various ways throughout the year. It also means that Catholics can obtain a plenary indulgence, or a special removal of punishment due for sins, by making pilgrimages to any Franciscan church or place of worship, in addition to the traditional ways a plenary indulgence can be obtained during a jubilee year, including praying for the Pope, offering special prayers and participating in confession and Communion.
We’ll be celebrating this special year here at The Catholic Echo as well, and with Earth Day coming up on April 22, this was the perfect issue to really kick off our celebrations for the patron saint of the environment. But stay tuned—there is more to come!
You’ll find the feature story about Saint Francis on page 14 of this magazine, in addition to a story from Catholic News Service on page 33, detailing how Saint Francis’ bones were placed on display earlier this year. You’ll also find an Easter column by Father Kevin Bertleff, focused on Christ’s first words to His apostles after His Resurrection—“Peace be with you”—on page 30, and the Faith Fact on page 32 delves into Easter candles and why we use candles in the liturgy. And of course, there is much more besides. Thank you for reading and, again, Easter blessings to you and yours!
Until next time,
Katie Wagner
