As Catholics, including top Vatican cardinals, gathered in St Peter's Basilica to receive ashes at the beginning of Lent, they offered special prayers for Pope John Paul II.

Cardinal J Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, presided over the Feb 9 Ash Wednesday prayer service instead of Pope John Paul, who was still in the hospital after experiencing difficulty breathing Feb 1.

Speaking in Italian at the service in St Peter's, Cardinal Stafford told the congregation he had "the joy and honour of presiding over this solemn liturgy in the name of the Holy Father."

"We feel his spiritual presence among us and we remember him with affection, asking the Lord to grant him the necessary graces for his primatial charism of confirming the brothers and sisters in the unity of the faith," Cardinal Stafford said.

The booklets prepared in advance for the liturgy still listed Pope John Paul as the celebrant, but a special prayer was added to the prayers of the faithful:

" Grant health and comfort to our beloved pope, John Paul II, so that he may continue his pastoral ministry for the good of the Church and all humanity ."

In his homily, Cardinal Stafford said the conversion to which all people are called -- especially during Lent -- involves three things: "almsgiving, which is sharing; prayer, which is entrusting yourself to the Lord; and fasting, which is knowing how to place limits on yourself."

The cardinal said that obviously even the cardinals, bishops and priests who work at the Vatican "experience each day our limits and our fragility."

But almsgiving, prayer and fasting prepare the heart to receive God's grace and help each believer become a true witness of his peace in the world, the cardinal said.

(CNS)