As Christians around the world mark the start of the season of Lent at Ash Wednesday services, the pope is taking part in associated traditions in his hospital room.
Pope Francis had ashes imposed on his forehead at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital by another Catholic leader and also received the Eucharist, according to a Wednesday statement from the Holy See Press Office.
The pope has been hospitalized since seeking treatment for bronchitis on Feb. 14. Over the past two and a half weeks, his condition has worsened and become double pneumonia.
As recently as Monday, he struggled through two episodes of “acute respiratory insufficiency” requiring medical intervention that went beyond his regular treatment, per Vatican News.
Despite his health challenges, Pope Francis has remained engaged in the work of leading the Catholic Church.
He provided a homily for Ash Wednesday Mass at the Vatican, which was read by Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vatican News reported.
And at the hospital on Wednesday, he called a Catholic priest in Gaza to check in, per the Holy See’s statement.
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday marks the start of the season of Lent, a time when Christians prepare their hearts and minds for Easter.
Most Catholics, as well as many members of other Christian denominations, go to church on Ash Wednesday to pray and have their forehead marked with a cross made of ashes.
The ashes serve as a reminder of human mortality, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Also on Ash Wednesday, Christians who are giving something up — or taking something on — during Lent begin their new discipline, whether that means skipping dessert or reading part of the Bible every day until Easter.
While Easter is a popular religious holiday in the United States, it’s not nearly as common to celebrate Ash Wednesday or observe Lent.
Just 26% of U.S. adults say they observe Lent, according to a new survey from Lifeway Research. That figure includes 59% of U.S. Catholics.
White House statement on Ash Wednesday
The White House marked the start of Lent with a statement about Ash Wednesday traditions and the significance of Easter.
“This Ash Wednesday, we join in prayer with the tens of millions of American Catholics and other Christians beginning the holy season of Lent — a time of spiritual anticipation of the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," it read in part.
