Monday, February 27, 2006

Pope Benedict will preside at Ash Wednesday services

POPE WILL RESUME TRADITIONAL ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICES

Feb. 24 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI will open the season of Lent with a traditional Ash Wednesday service that Pope John Paul II was forced to abandon as his health deteriorated, the Vatican has announced.

The Holy Father will preside at an afternoon prayer service on March 1 at the church of St. Anselm, followed by a procession from there to the basilica of Santa Sabina. There he will celebrate Mass and help with the distribution of ashes.

The service in Santa Sabina reflects an old Roman custom of holding services at certain churches, or "stations," during Lent. During the last few years of his life, as it became more difficult for him to move around the city, Pope John Paul held Ash Wednesday services in the Vatican basilica.

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