While Pope Francis remained hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis celebrated the Ash Wednesday Mass in his place at the Basilica of Santa Sabina, March 5 in Rome.

On Wednesday, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the Major Penitentiary, celebrated the traditional Mass beginning Lent at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome, and read the homily prepared by Pope Francis.

The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season leading to Easter on Wednesday without the participation of Pope Francis, who is in the third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

ROME (TNND) — Vatican officials said Pope Francis is resting on this Ash Wednesday, the start of the solemn Lenten period. The 88-year-old pontiff slept through the night at Rome's Gemelli hospital, according to a statement provided by the Vatican.

Made of ashes and earth, we experience fragility through illness, poverty, and the hardships that can suddenly befall us and our families,” the pope said.

Pope Francis celebrated the start of the Lent religious season from his hospital suite on Wednesday, the 88-year-old's condition stable but still complex as he undergoes treatment for double pneumonia,

Christians across the world observe a 40-day period called Lent. It represents the 40 days in the Bible that Jesus had spent fasting and praying in the desert. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and this year,

Pope Francis is resting after sleeping through the night with a ventilation mask as he undergoes hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

Pope Francis is resting after sleeping through the night with a ventilation mask as he undergoes hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

The Vatican said as of Tuesday morning, Francis no longer needed to wear the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask that covers his nose and mouth to pump oxygen into his lungs and was just receiving supplemental oxygen through a nasal tube.

ROME—Pope Francis said the Lenten journey reminds the Church that hope in Jesus Christ ultimately overcomes fears of fragility, weakness, and the brevity of life. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, reading the papal text,