The ABC will explore and celebrate Easter this long weekend across radio, television and online, with new programs and features reflecting on the most significant event on the Christian calendar.
ABC content in Holy Week includes sacred music, the Pope’s Easter Vigil Mass and insightful stories about devotion and the search for meaning, across many faiths and beliefs.
Joe Gelonesi, ABC manager religion & ethics, said: “The Easter period is a special time for many Australians and an important reminder of the needs of faith communities to worship, commemorate and celebrate.
“The past 12 months have been difficult for people of all faiths to participate fully with their communities. Throughout this time, the ABC has provided a secure home for faith and belief in all its diversity and a place for all Australians to reconnect through compelling stories of spirit and meaning.”
The ABC’s Easter content highlights include:
ABC Radio
• Holy Week on ABC Classic, from 28 March to 4 April: Music inspired by Easter and Passover, including evenings spent in musical reflection and performances of Bach’s St John Passion (Friday 2 April at 1pm) and Bach’s Easter Oratorio (Sunday 4 April at 1pm).
• Good Friday Breakfast, 6-9am on Radio National (RN): Includes an hour of sacred music and discussions about art as prayer, Jewish traditions of memory and ritual, and our apparently boundless capacity to do terrible things to each other.
• The Religion & Ethics Report, Friday 2 April at 1pm and 5pm on RN: Andrew West discusses the book Vexed: Ethics Beyond Political Tribes and explores the obligations and controversies of philanthropy.
• God Forbid, Sunday 4 April at 6am on RN: Discussions about “Jesus as the female divine” and the social setting of early Christianity.
• Soul Search, Sunday 4 April at 6pm on RN: Meredith Lake visits the “Death Café” in Sydney and discusses religious art in Australia.
ABC Television and ABC iview
• Pope’s Easter Vigil Mass: Sunday 4 April at 2.30pm AEST on ABC TV and ABC iview.
• Compass: The Jesuit who dared, Sunday 4 April at 8pm on ABC TV Plus and ABC iview: The legacy of a priest who rocked the foundations of the Catholic Church.
• Compass: A Legacy in Stone, Sunday 4 April at 6.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview: The story of a sculptor’s stone carvings for Brisbane’s St John’s Cathedral.
• Easter in Australia, Friday 2 April at 12.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview: Jeremy Fernandez investigates the renewal at the heart of the Easter story.
• Jesus: Countdown to Calvary, Friday 2 April on 6pm on ABC TV and ABC iview: Hugh Bonneville travels to Jerusalem to explore the week that changed the world.
• Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome, Sunday 4 April at 9.30pm on ABC TV Plus and iview: Celebrities of differing faiths and beliefs trek from the Italian Alps to Rome.
Visit ABC iview for a collection of the above content and more.
Online
• The ABC’s Religion & Ethics online portal features articles, discussions and opinion pieces covering multiple faiths and beliefs, including this piece about Holy Week and the invitation to prayer.
The ABC will also bring coverage to audiences of how Easter is being celebrated throughout the world, across the ABC News Channel, ABC NewsRadio and digital networks.