Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating his last public Mass as pontiff, presiding over Ash Wednesday services inside the packed St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Looking tired, the 85-year-old Benedict was wheeled down the central aisle as a choir sang, preceded by dozens of cardinals.
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the most solemn season in the church's liturgical calendar that ends with Holy Week and Easter Sunday.
Wearing heavy purple vestments, Benedict referred to his pending Feb. 28 resignation in his homily, asking for the prayers of the faithful.
At the end of the Mass, the pope's longtime deputy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, thanked him for being an example of a "simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord." Those were the words Benedict himself used when he was elected pope in April 2005.
As the pope made his exit, the basilica erupted in a standing ovation.
Earlier in the day, during his weekly catechism lesson, the pope explained why he had broken with 600 years of tradition and decided to retire, saying he was doing so "for the good of the church." (AP)
