Pope opens season of fasting for Christians (event photos)

Yahoo News ^ | March 1, 2006

[NYer]

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI told crowds of pilgrims at the Vatican they must open their eyes to the poor and the needy as he began ceremonies marking Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian fasting period of Lent.

"We too are called to be attentive to the needs of our suffering brothers and sisters as part of our Lenten observance," Benedict told more than 10,000 pilgrims at his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square.

"Lent is a favourable time to convert oneself to love, and to open our eyes to the needs of our brothers," the 78-year-old pontiff said as he began the 40-day period of penitence preceding Easter.

"Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, may we be purified and renewed, as we prepare to celebrate the great feast of Easter."

Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent, is traditionally a time for spiritual self-examination.

In the afternoon, Benedict was to preside at prayers in the Church of Saint Anselm on Rome's Aventine Hill and shortly afterwards lead a procession of cardinals and other clergy as well as ordinary faithful to the nearby Basilica of Santa Sabina for mass.

His predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, began the annual procession and maintained it until overcome by infirmity in the later years of his life. He led the Catholic Church's Ash Wednesday ceremonies from his hospital suite last year.

At the mass -- as part of the worldwide practice for Catholics on Ash Wednesday -- worshippers including Benedict were to be marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.

From next Sunday, the pope will cancel his public appearances for a week to undertake a series of "spiritual exercises" with members of the Roman Curia, or Vatican government, under the guidance of Cardinal Marco Ce, the former Venice Patriarch.

[NYer]

Pope Benedict XVI, with master of ceremonies Bishop Piero Marini, looks on during the Ash Wednesday procession to a Rome basilica on the Aventine Hill, to celebrate a mass where he will place ashes on the head of the faithful, a gesture symbolizing mortality, in Rome, Wednesday March 1, 2006. The pontiff urged people to overcome indifference to the poor and share what they have with the needy as the Roman Catholic Church marked Ash Wednesday, which begins the austere period of personal sacrifice and reflection known as Lent. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

A view of the beginning of the Ash Wednesday procession to a Rome basilica on the Aventine Hill, to celebrate a mass where Pope Benedict XVI will place ashes on the heads of the faithful, a gesture symbolizing mortality, in Rome, Wednesday March 1, 2006. The pontiff urged people to overcome indifference to the poor and share what they have with the needy as the Roman Catholic Church marked Ash Wednesday, which begins the austere period of personal sacrifice and reflection known as Lent. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

[diamond6]

bump

[NYer]

The faithful wait with Vatican flags with an image of Pope Benedict XVI and writing saying 'Long Live the Pope' and 'Welcome Amongst Us', looks on during the Ash Wednesday procession led by Benedict to a Rome basilica on the Aventine Hill, to celebrate a mass where he will place ashes on the head of the faithful, a gesture symbolizing mortality, in Rome, Wednesday March 1, 2006. The pontiff urged people to overcome indifference to the poor and share what they have with the needy as the Roman Catholic Church marked Ash Wednesday, which begins the austere period of personal sacrifice and reflection known as Lent. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

And look who showed up at today's General Audience. Would love to have been a fly on the barricade :-)

In this picture released by the Vatican newspaper, Pope Benedict XVI talks with members of a Muslim delegation, no names given, from the United States during an open-air general audience in St. Peter's square at the Vatican Wednesday, March 1, 2006. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, Arturo Mari)

[TXBSAFH]

I am planning the fast every Friday thru Lent.

[NYer]

Me too :-)

[Salvation]

And today, Ash Wednesday, as well??!!

[bboop]

We are, too.

[anonymoussierra]

Thank you (*NYer*)