Vatican City, 02 March, 2022 / 8:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis said on Ash Wednesday that the Lenten season provides an opportunity for conversion and interior renewal.
“Let us prepare ourselves with confidence to follow the Lenten journey that begins today as an opportunity for conversion and interior renewal in listening to the Word of God, in prayer, in the daily exercise of charity towards one’s neighbor,” the pope said on March 2.
The pope was speaking at the end of his live-streamed general audience, dedicated to the importance of spending time with the elderly.
Pope Francis also reminded pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall that March 2 is a global day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine.
“Our prayer and fasting will be a plea for peace in Ukraine, remembering that world peace always begins with our personal conversion, following Christ,” the pope said in his message to French-speaking pilgrims.