This EWTN Vaticano episode explores four powerful Lenten themes unfolding in Rome — from the ancient Station Churches to the peripheries of the city, from the confessional of Santa Maria Maggiore to the meeting point of psychology and grace.

Ash Wednesday on the Aventine

Pope Leo XIV begins Lent with the traditional Station Church procession from Sant’Anselmo to Santa Sabina, reviving a 4th-century Roman custom. We explore the spiritual meaning of pilgrimage, the symbolism of procession, and the ancient wooden doors of Santa Sabina bearing one of the earliest depictions of Christ Crucified.

Pope Leo and the Roman Parishes

Across five Sundays of Lent, the Holy Father steps beyond the Vatican to visit parishes in Rome’s outskirts, bringing the papacy into neighborhoods marked by hardship, charity, and hope. From Ostia to Ponte Mammolo, we witness faith lived on the peripheries.

The Power of Confession

Inside the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Dominican confessors hear sins in more than 20 languages. We meet Fr. Krzysztof Popławski and hear stories of pilgrims returning to the sacrament after decades, discovering mercy, healing, and peace.

Where the Soul Meets the Mind

Fr. Wenceslao Vial, priest and professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, explains the difference between therapy and confession — and what the Sacrament of Reconciliation offers that psychology alone cannot: forgiveness, grace, and transformation.

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