Pope Leo laments world ‘in flames’ at Ash Wednesday service
The pontiff said the ashes could represent cities destroyed by war, as well as the damage to the environment and international law
Pope Leo lamented a world “in flames” due to wars and the destruction of the environment during an Ash Wednesday Mass, opening the season of Lent for the world’s Christians.
Before sprinkling ashes on the heads of participants, a sign of mortality, the pope said the ashes could represent “the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war”.
He also told participants the ashes could signify “the ashes of international law and justice among peoples, [and] the ashes of entire ecosystems”.
“It is so easy to feel powerless in the face of a world that is in flames,” said Leo, the first US pope.
Lent is a 40-day period of penance that leads to Easter, the most important Christian holiday, which celebrates the day on which believers say Jesus rose from the dead.