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Posted: 8:25 PM Feb 22, 2012
Pope Marks Ash Wednesday
Pope Benedict XVI has led a solemn service to mark the start of the Lenten season of penitence, including the placement of ashes on the forehead of faithful.
Reporter: Associated Press |
Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing upon arrival in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican to hold a pre-trip prayer service for the Catholic faithful, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. The pontiff has invited Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims to a pilgrimmage to the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi, central Italy, where 25 years ago Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama and others spent the day praying for peace amid the Cold War. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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ROME (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI has led a solemn service to mark the start of the Lenten season of penitence, including the placement of ashes on the forehead of faithful.
Benedict wore purple-colored vestments as he celebrated Mass in the Basilica of Santa Sabina, an ancient church on Rome's Aventine Hill.
Although the 84-year-old pontiff has been using a wheeled platform to navigate the long aisle of St. Peter's Basilica to save energy, he walked unassisted into and out of Santa Sabina. In his homily, he noted that Ash Wednesday is a "day of penitence and fasting." Lent helps spiritually prepare Roman Catholics for Easter, which this year falls on April 8.
Benedict rubbed ashes on the foreheads of some faithful to symbolize mortality.
