Today is Good Friday for Catholics, the day on which the crucifixion of Jesus is recalled, which means that in Paris one of the greatest Christian relics is venerated: the Crown of Thorns of Christ, kept since 1806 in the treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris,

Today is Good Friday for Catholics, the day on which the crucifixion of Jesus is recalled, which means that in Paris one of the greatest Christian relics is venerated: the Crown of Thorns of Christ, kept since 1806 in the treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris, and which reached France in 1238, when Louis IX carried it into the city barefoot, dressed as a pauper. The service is conducted by the Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit; despite the state of the cathedral after the devastating fire, the Crown of Thorns is still venerated in Notre-Dame. Traditionally the relic is shown to the world on the first Friday of every month and on Good Friday, and usually an enormous number of the faithful gather for the service, wishing to see the crown; this time the relic was accompanied by only a small group of people. To the music of Bach, Gluck, Telemann and Schubert, performed by the French violinist Renaud Capuçon, the actress Judith Chemla and the actor Philippe Torreton read texts by Mother Teresa, Paul Claudel and Charles Péguy. The Archbishop of Paris spoke a prayer and words of blessing. The service itself can be watched on the website of the Catholic Church in Paris>>

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Pope Leo XIV on the courage to do good, to forgive and to enter into dialogue

Our time needs men and women who have the courage to do good, even when it involves sacrifice. Draw near to those who are lonely, support the weary and seek out those who have lost their way. Have the courage to forgive, to begin anew and to enter into dialogue.

Old colour photograph with cracks: adults and children resting on the grass on a slope under a tree.

Orientalist Grigory Kozakov with relatives and children at a picnic near the village of Zhikharevka in 1903

The Orientalist Grigory Alexandrovich Kozakov, surrounded by his relatives, his daughter-in-law Countess Anna Nikolayevna Tolstaya, the children and their tutor, at a picnic near the village of Zhikharevka in 1903

Konstantin Ivanov's Cosmonautics Day poster, published in Moscow in 1977

Grow strong, cosmic youth! A poster for Cosmonautics Day, created by the artist Konstantin Konstantinovich Ivanov in 1977. The work was issued by the Moscow publishing house “Plakat” for 12 April. Konstantin Ivanov was a Soviet graphic artist and poster designer, Honoured Artist of the RSFSR. The theme of space

Signs of violent death found on skulls from burials beside the royal tombs at Abydos

An American archaeologist has carried out a forensic analysis of skulls of people who were buried beside the tombs of Egypt's first kings at Abydos, and has found on many of them traces of violent death. Abydos in Upper Egypt served as the burial place of the kings

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Pope Leo XIV on the courage to do good, to forgive and to enter into dialogue

Orientalist Grigory Kozakov with relatives and children at a picnic near the village of Zhikharevka in 1903

Konstantin Ivanov's Cosmonautics Day poster, published in Moscow in 1977

Signs of violent death found on skulls from burials beside the royal tombs at Abydos