The tribute to St. Joseph will be held March 18-19. Festivities begin on Friday, March 18, with the St. Joseph’s Mass celebration at 6 p.m. in the Immaculate Conception Church.

VATICAN CITY — Of the many traditions and penitential practices observed during the season of Lent, one of the more visible is the stark change in church decor and a complete absence of flowers.

A tabernacle valued at $2 million was stolen from a Catholic church in Brooklyn last week and statues of angels flanking the altar were decapitated in the process, police said.