Vatican City, Mar 1, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Pope Benedict XVI marked the beginning of Lent yesterday by presiding at a penitential procession and Mass at Rome’s Santa Sabina Basilica, where he told faithful that Lent, in many ways, illuminates the Christian battle, mirroring Christ’s own battle as he prepared for his public ministry with 40 days in the wilderness.
The Holy Father began the evening ceremony with a brief moment of prayer in the church of St. Anslem on Rome's Aventine Hill at 4:30, followed by the procession, Mass and traditional imposition of ashes.
He begun his homily by explaining that "The penitential procession with which we began today's celebration helped us to enter into the atmosphere typical of Lent, which is an individual and community pilgrimage of conversion and spiritual renewal."
The Pope went on to say that many popular Lenten rites, such as the imposition of the ashes, the Stations of the Cross, and visits to churches containing relics of the martyrs, maintain their significance over the centuries.