Bishop Serratelli presided at the Easter Vigil Mass in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Holy Saturday, March 31. This is the night that “shall be as bright as day” as proclaimed by the Exsultet, an ancient church hymn, as the Church joyfully anticipates Christ’s Resurrection.

Parishioners of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson re-enacted the Passion of Christ on March 30, Good Friday. The annual tradition in the city included a procession through the streets of Paterson which concluded at the Bishop Frank J. Rodimer Center next to the cathedral on Grand Street.

Bishop Serratelli presided at the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, March 30, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. The solemn service begins with the Liturgy of the Word, including the account of the Passion and Death of Jesus from the Gospel of John. The Veneration of the Cross, an ancient practice that allows each person to touch or kiss the Cross, the instrument of torture that leads to salvation, followed.

Bishop Serratelli celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening, March 29, in the Cathe­dral of St. John in Paterson. The Mass commemorates the institution of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Holy Orders by Jesus Christ.

St. Paul Parish and the impoverished town its serves, Nanpol — home to a vibrant Catholic faith community — seemed overdue for a physical rebirth by last year. Nestled in the mountains of northwest Haiti, it has a 60-year-old church that had been suffering from the ill effects of time and weather. The pump for its only well stopped working, leaving residents without well water. A lack of funds halted construction of its rectory, which consisted of only a concrete slab.

As Holy Week began, there was a major court decision that proved to be an important victory for our religious freedoms. The decision by the U.S. District Court dealt a final, crushing blow to Obamacare’s Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate, which had forced Catholic non-profits to provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization in their health care packages to their employees.

During his Urbi et Orbi (“For the city and for the world”) Easter blessing, Pope Francis said Jesus’ Death and Resurrection provide hope to a world marred by conflict, proving that modern tragedies such as war and violence won’t have the final say.