Ash Wednesday

The faithful wait while holding Vatican flags with an image of Pope Benedict XVI and writing saying "Long Live the Pope" and "Welcome Amongst Us," during the Ash Wednesday procession led by the Pope to a Rome basilica on the Aventine Hill on Wednesday, March 1, 2006. The Pontiff celebrated a Mass at which he placed ashes on the heads of the faithful, a gesture symbolizing mortality.

VATICAN CITY

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 at which he placed ashes on the heads of the faithful, Wednesday, March 1, 2006. The Pope ushered in the solemn Lenten season by urging Roman Catholics to overcome indifference to the poor and share what they have with the needy.

VATICAN CITY

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 placed ashes on the heads of the faithful, a gesture symbolizing mortality, Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

VATICAN CITY

Pope Benedict XVI puts ashes on Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a gesture symbolizing mortality, during a mass in a Rome basilica on the Aventine Hill, Wednesday March 1, 2006. The pontiff urged people to overcome indifference to the poor and share what they have with the needy Wednesday, as the Roman Catholic Church marked Ash Wednesday, which begins the 40-day period of personal sacrifice and reflection known as Lent.

MEXICO

A choirboy gets his forehead marked with ash by a priest at the National Cathederal in Mexico City, Mexico, during Ash Wednesday celebrations on March 1, 2006. For Catholics and other Christians, Ash Wednesday marks the start of the 40-day period of Lent.

COSTA RICA

With a cross of ashes on his forehead, a Costa Rican man prays as he attends Mass on Ash Wednesday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.

COSTA RICA

With a cross of ashes on her forehead, a Costa Rican woman receives communion during a Mass on Ash Wednesday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

COLOMBIA

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is seen with an ash cross on his forehead on Ash Wednesday, as he registers his name for the presidential elections in Bogota, Colombia, on Wednesday, March, 1, 2006. The elections are set to take place in May.

IOWA

Students at Lourdes Catholic School in Bettendorf, Iowa, stand near the altar after receiving ashes on their foreheads during Ash Wednesday Services at Lourdes Catholic Church, Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.

COLOMBIA

This photo released by the Colombian official press agency show a priesT placing an ash cross on the forehead of a paramilitary soldier during a ceremony on Ash Wednesday in Puerto Asis, Putumayo, Colombia, Wednesday, March, 1, 2006. Some 504 paramilitaries of the Putumayo Bloc turned in their weapons Wednesday as part of an ongoing demobilization process.

GUATEMALA

A man holds on to a crucifix during Ash Wednesday services at the Cathedral in Guatemala City, Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.

GUATEMALA

A woman attends Mass on Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral in Guatemala City, on Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.

POLAND

A priest sprinkles ash on the heads of people in a sign of penance at a church in Warsaw, Poland, on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Ash Wednesday is the start of the 40-day period of Lent, which leads up to Easter.

PHILIPPINES

A Filipino man is crossed with ashes as he and others attend Ash Wednesday services at Baclaran Catholic Church in Manila, Philippines, on Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

PANAMA

A priest places a cross of ash on a woman as a symbol of penance during an Ash Wednesday Mass at the Santa Ana church in Panama City, Panama, on Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

FLORIDA

Danielle Custer attends Ash Wednesday services at The Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Ashes from burnt palms are placed on recipients' foreheads to remind them of their mortality. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, which ends on Easter Sunday.

MINNESOTA

Jamila Dozark, her 9-month-old baby girl Zoea, and son Joseph, bear the sign of the cross in ashes on their forehead during a noon Ash Wednesday Mass at Divine Mercy Catholic Church, Sacred Heart, Wednesday, March 1, 2006, in Faribault, Minn.

NORTH CAROLINA

The Rev. Mary Frances Curns, curate of Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C., places ashes on the foreheads of parishioners at an Ash Wednesday service, Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Wednesday was the beginning of Lent, the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.

NEW YORK

Deacon Louis Delgado, left, with the sign of the cross on his forehead, joins fellow clergy as they mark worshippers on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2006, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. Ash Wednesday begins the austere period of personal sacrifice and reflection known as Lent. The 40-day period includes Good Friday, when Christians recall Christ's crucifixion, and ends with the joyful celebration of Easter.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Maria Beaner, 4, right, and her sisters Grace, 8, left, and Katherine, 14, center, attend an Ash Wednesday Mass at noon at St. Joseph Cathedral in Sioux Falls, S.D., Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Their mother Sara sits behind them, back right.