A woman prays during Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Andrew’s Church in the Manhattan borough of New York. (CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters) (March 6, 2014) ...read more

A nun makes a cross on a woman’s forehead with ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass at the cathedral in Bamako, Mali. (CNS photo/Joe Penney, Reuters) ...read more

A lay minister and nun use ashes to mark a cross on the forehead of churchgoers during Ash Wednesday Mass outside of a church in Manila, Philippines. (CNS photo/Erik De Castro, Reuters) ...read more

People kneel during Ash Wednesday Mass at the cathedral in Guatemala City.(CNS photo/Jorge Dan Lopez, Reuters) (March 6, 2014) ...read more

Pope Francis, in white, attends a weeklong Lenten retreat with senior members of the Roman Curia in Ariccia, Italy.(CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters) ...read more

A young volunteer displays food prepared for dinners served at a Friday evening fish fry at Sweetest Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Detroit. The Friday fish fry is a big event during Lent for many people in Catholic parishes and is especially popular in some regions of the United States. (CNS photo/Jim West) ...read more

A child dressed as a penitent takes part in a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession in Guatemala City. (CNS photo/Jorge Dan Lopez, Reuters) ...read more

In this video, Fr. Rob Galea talks about the Season of Lent. ...read more

Here is some of what we’ve been reading this week across the country: In Ontario, Catholic Crosscultural Services is helping government-assisted refugees settle into their home In Saskatoon, an elementary school has stepped up to sponsor a refugee family from Burundi. From Edmonton, we get this look at what Lent is and is not.   ...read more

Children exit a church after receiving ashes during an Ash Wednesday Mass in Guatemala City. Catholics around the world began the penitential season of Lent with prayer, fasting and the mark of ashes. (CNS photo/Joe Penney, Reuters) ...read more