Vatican Rejects Trump Board of Peace, Catholics Honor Jesse Jackson, Pope Leo's Ash Wednesday, and More

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 18, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• The Holy See "will not participate" in President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" for Gaza, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said Feb. 17, citing "points that leave us somewhat perplexed."
• Two Virginia bishops are hailing the halt of legislation that would have legalized assisted suicide in that state. 
• Catholic leaders were among those who praised the legacy of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Baptist minister and prominent civil rights leader, who died Feb. 17. 
• Attendance at Ash Wednesday Masses across France is once again expected to surge, with national outlets pointing to an "unexpected return of Lent" and the staying power of 2025's record crowds.
• Pope Leo XIV marked his first Ash Wednesday as pope with a penitential procession and a call for "countercultural" repentance -- not only from individuals, but from institutions and the Church itself.