Benedict XVI Revives a Lenten Practice

ROME, MARCH 9, 2006 - Benedict XVI continued a 1,600-year-old tradition on Ash Wednesday when he celebrated Mass and the imposition of ashes at the station Church of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill.

To the thrill of medievalists, he also revived a usage discontinued since the 11th or 12th century of gathering for prayer at a collect Church of Sant'Anselmo before heading to the station church.

Station churches are traditionally the site where a pope celebrates Mass during Lent as well as certain holy days and feasts. In the ancient customs of Christian Rome, on Ash Wednesday the faithful would assemble at a collect church (Sant'Anastasia in the Middle Ages) and after praying together they would depart in procession to Santa Sabina where the pope would celebrate Mass for the congregation.

Thrilling news for medievalists indeed. Even greater news for traditional Anglo-Papists. Read it all at Zenit