So much so that even a building housing terminally ill patients, who wait for death in this holy city, is not spared.

BBC: NEWS | South Asia | Indian holy city goes to polls

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the most solemn season on the church's liturgical calendar that ends with Holy Week, when the faithful commemorate the death of Christ and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

NPR: Pope Celebrates Last Public Mass As Pontiff