Looking forward to Ash Wednesday with Pope Francis at Sant’Anselmo

On Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis will preside at the traditional "stational" liturgy for the beginning of Lent in Rome. 

Following an ancient custom revived by Pope St John XXIII, Pope Francis will join the faithful at the church of Sant'Anselmo on the Aventine Hill. From there, the Holy Father will lead a penitential procession to the station church, the nearby Basilica of Santa Sabina, where he will celebrate the Mass for Ash Wednesday, with the blessing and imposition of ashes. 

In addition to faithful from the diocese of Rome, the liturgy will be attended by numerous Cardinals, Bishops, and clergy, as well as men and women religious, including the Dominican Fathers of Santa Sabina, and the Benedictine monks of Sant'Anselmo. 

In this video, the rector of the Pontifical Atheneum of Saint Anselm, Benedictine Father Bernhard Eckerstorfer, says he is looking forward to taking part in the liturgy with Pope Francis.