The pope "rested well" and woke shortly after 8 a.m. this morning, his 20th day in hospital, as his condition remains stable and his prognosis remains reserved.

On Ash Wednesday, observant Catholics receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads, a gesture that underscores human mortality. It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season.