Ahead of a meeting on April 17 between religious leaders and the federal government, there are growing calls to allow the German faithful to worship together as soon as possible.

One year after a fire ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, restoration of the famed landmark has been halted due to the pandemic.

Bishop Giovanni Nerbini of Prato, Italy made six doctors extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist so that coronavirus patients could receive Communion on Easter, offering a new way to provide spiritual care and comfort.

The country’s economy was already in serious difficulty before the pandemic hit. Now, Italy could enter its fourth recession in a decade.

Brooding, interior and utterly focused, Mr. von Sydow is a stirring presence on screen, with a weathered face apt to illustrate inner spiritual turmoil.

What did Notre-Dame mean? What did it feel like to step into it in the Middle Ages?