Seminarians carry an urn of olive oil during the chrism Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City April 16, 2019. (Credit: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz.) Listen WASHINGTON, D.C. — A ...

VATICAN CITY — At his annual chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis said that a good priest is one who is close to his flock and who makes Jesus’ presence felt in people’s lives.

For many U.S. dioceses, this year marked the first chrism Mass to draw a capacity crowd of congregants since before the pandemic. For the last two years, COVID-19 turned most in-person liturgies ...

Priests from across the Archdiocese of San Antonio came out for the Chrism Mass, a special time during Holy Week to bless the oils used in sacraments in the coming year. The turnout of priests, in ...

Chrism takes its name from Christ, “the anointed one of the Lord.” The Sacred Chrism is used in the Sacrament of Confirmation, the anointing of priests in the Rite of Ordination, and in the ...

Chrism oil symbolizes strength, and the fragrant balsam represents the “aroma of Christ,” taken from 2 Corinthians.

The days leading up to Easter Sunday are filled with ritual for Catholics and other Christians — from foot-washing, Passion plays and the baptisms of new converts — all to underscore Christ's ...

At the Chrism Mass, the priests wear their normal priestly garb, chasuble and stole. "The priests of our Diocese have something that has been designated as the Diocesan Vestment," Stitt said.

Pope Francis celebrates the Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, April 14, 2022. (photo: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA / EWTN) Hannah Brockhaus/CNA Vatican April 14, 2022 ...

At his annual Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis said that a good priest is one who is close to his flock and who makes Jesus’ presence felt in people’s lives – as more than an ...