The Vatican, though, made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church's solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.

Pope Francis is showing improvement as he battles double pneumonia, the Vatican said on Friday, but he will not lead an annual Church service next week to open the Christian season of Lent. Francis, 88,

In their Thursday evening bulletin, doctors said Francis’ clinical condition had confirmed that he was improving. He was alternating the high-flow supplemental oxygen he had bee

Ash Wednesday, a Christian holy day, is around the corner. It is the first day of the Lenten season and is considered a reminder of human mortality,

Here's everything you need to know about Ash Wednesday and Lent and more on what these religious practices are all about.