Christians across the world are preparing for Lent through prayer, fasting and community service as the 40-day period of reflection approaches.

Today is Ash Wednesday.

It marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian liturgical calendar, and it is observed by Catholics, Anglicans and some other mainstream denominations worldwide.

The day is observed 46 days before Easter Sunday this year and signals the start of a 40-day period of fasting and prayer, excluding Sundays.

The ancient practice of fasting from food during Lent can free us from complacency and lead us to “hunger” for God, Pope Leo XIV said in his 2026 Lenten message.

Ahead of Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the 40-day liturgical season of Lent, the pope encouraged people to embrace the “ancient ascetic practice” of abstaining from food, as well as “refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor.”

Lent is a time to “place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life,” the pope said.

“Abstaining from food is an ancient ascetic practice that is essential on the path of conversion,” he wrote. “Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it easier to recognize what we ‘hunger’ for and what we deem necessary for our sustenance.”

Fasting, he added, helps to identify and properly order our “appetites,” “keeping our hunger and thirst for justice alive and freeing us from complacency.”

- Agencies