ROME — Pope Francis led the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into the penitential season of Lent, reminding them on Ash Wednesday that everyone will be “dust in the universe” regardless of their status on earth. The pope presided at a traditional service leading a procession between two churches on the streets of Rome and saying Mass, opening the 40-day season that leads to Easter. “The dust sprinkled on our heads brings us back to earth; it reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. The lives of unwelcomed innocents, the lives of the excluded poor, the lives of the abandoned elderly,” he said. A number of people wore masks in St. Peter’s Square at the Wednesday audience but only one person was seen wearing one at the pope’s Ash Wednesday service.

Source: National Post February 26, 2020 16:52 UTC