Pope Francis presided at Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome. Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, was the principal celebrant.
“The rite of the imposition of ashes serves as the beginning of this return journey,” the Pope preached. “It exhorts us to do two things: to return to the truth about ourselves and to return to God and to our brothers and sisters.”
“Brothers and sisters, let us not neglect the grace of this holy season, but fix our gaze on the cross and set out, responding generously to the powerful promptings of Lent,” he concluded. “At the end of the journey, we will encounter with greater joy the Lord of life, we will meet him, who alone can raise us up from our ashes.”