It’s Ash Wednesday and some in Greenville joined millions around the world to honor this holy day.

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 suffered an isolated coughing fit on Friday that resulted in him inhaling vomit and requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vatican said in relaying an alarming setback in his two-week long battle against double pneumonia.

Pope Francis suffered an isolated coughing fit on Friday that resulted in him inhaling vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vatican said in relaying a setback in his two-week long battle against double pneumonia.

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.

During the morning, the pope participated in an Ash Wednesday celebration, receiving ashes and Holy Communion. ROME - Pope Francis' condition "remained stable" on Wednesday, "without any episodes of respiratory insufficiency,

Pope Francis’ condition remained stable on Wednesday (March 5), according to a Vatican statement relaying his doctors’ reports. As Francis is being treated for pneumonia in both lungs at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome,

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.

FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports how Bay Area Catholics observed Ash Wednesday as Pope Francis continues battling double pneumonia in a Rome hospital.

A priest holds a vessel of ashes as Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome March 5, 2025. Pope Francis, who is hospitalized,

Cardinals and bishops arrive at Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, to attend a mass presided over by Cardinal Major Penitentiary Angelo De Donatis on Ash Wednesday.