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Bay Area Catholics mark the beginning of Lent as Pope Francis remains hospitalized

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Published  March 5, 2025 7:35pm EST
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

How Tampa Catholics observed Ash Wednesday

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

The Brief

    • Catholics in the Tampa Bay Area marked the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday by attending services and offering prayers.
    • Those prayers included for Pope Francis, who remains in the hospital battling double pneumonia.
    • Bishop Gregory Parkes of the Diocese of St. Petersburg described meeting the pope, whom he describes as a kind and gentle man, on trips to Rome.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Catholics marked the start of Lent without Pope Francis on Wednesday. The 88-year-old spent his twentieth day in the hospital with double pneumonia.

On Wednesday, the Vatican said the pope was stable, had increased physical therapy, and called the parish priest in Gaza. He marked Ash Wednesday by receiving ashes on his forehead. 

FILE: Pope Francis.

FILE: Pope Francis.

Pope Francis continues to receive oxygen through a nasal tube and will use a non-invasive mechanical mask for the night.

The backstory:

Prayers are pouring in worldwide as parishioners mark the start of Lent. That includes prayers from the Tampa Bay Area.

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"We always pray for the pope, for the Holy Father, under any circumstance, but the last couple of weeks have been a special opportunity for us to lift him up in prayer as he's been struggling with various illnesses," said Bishop Gregory Parkes, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Bishop Gregory Parkes meeting Pope Francis in Rome.

Bishop Gregory Parkes meeting Pope Francis in Rome.

Parkes has met the pope several times on visits to Rome.

"Pope Francis, as you can imagine, is a very kind and very gentle man. He also has a good sense of humor. I'm very tall. I'm six-foot-eight, and he asked me on one occasion if I played basketball. And I thought, ‘Well, everyone else asks me that. Why not the pope,’" said Parkes. 

Local perspective:

Parkes led the congregation at the Pastoral Center Chapel on the Diocese’s campus in an Ash Wednesday morning service.

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"The ashes remind us, first of all, of our mortality, but also of the fact that we are sinners and that we are all in need of God's mercy and God's forgiveness," said Parkes. "Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, which is a 40-day period of preparation to celebrate Holy Week and Easter. It's a time for us to engage in prayer, fasting, and works of charity and works of mercy." 

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Morning services on Ash Wednesday in St. Petersburg. 

Parkes said he’s challenging the Diocese to complete one million acts of mercy throughout the entire year, acts that could include feeding the homeless or helping the elderly. 

"I just hope and pray that these 40 days of Lent will be an opportunity for all to engage in acts of charity, acts of love, and to prepare ourselves to celebrate the great joy of Easter," said Parkes.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg includes almost 500,000 Catholics in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus Counties. 

It is made up of 75 parishes, five missions, and several social services, health care, housing, and pastoral ministries.

The Source: FOX 13's Kailey Tracy collected the information in this story.

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