ROME (AP) _ Pope Benedict has opened the solemn Lenten season by marking the bowed heads of Roman Catholic worshippers with ashes. Ash Wednesday services usher in a period of penitence and reflection that leads up to Easter Sunday, this year being celebrated on April 4.

Benedict pinched a bit of ash from a silver-colored bowl held out to him by an aide, and then distributed the ashes to prelates, other clergy and lay people, including children, who approached him one by one in St. Sabina’s Basilica on Rome’s ancient Aventine Hill. The pope in his homily said that humanity needs to hope in a world that is more just, and described Lent as an opportunity for spiritual renewal.