On Laetare Sunday, the Sunday of Joy and the fourth Sunday of Lent, the liturgical color of purple is replaced with the color rose, symbolizing joy.
On the outskirts of Rome, at the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ponte Mammolo, Pope Leo XIV presided over Mass wearing this color, which announces the joy that the Resurrection of the Lord, Easter, is drawing ever closer.
In harmony with the color rose, the liturgy also takes on a more joyful tone. The message is therefore clear: Lenten penance does not end in sadness but in the joy of the Resurrection. The same color is also used during Gaudete Sunday in the season of Advent, but there it expresses the joyful and anticipated approached of Christmas.
