The Penitential Procession

The traditional Ash Wednesday procession on the Aventine Hill in Rome took place in the afternoon of 14 February. It began in the Church of Saint Anselm and concluded in the Basilica of Saint Sabina, where the Eucharistic liturgy was celebrated, along with the rite of the imposition of ashes. The procession was guided by Major Penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. The Benedictine monks of Saint Anselm and the Dominican priests of Saint Sabina led the procession, and later, during Holy Mass, distributed the ashes and the Eucharist. With them were 17 Cardinals, among them the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re. Archbishops Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State; Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International ...