Amid the buzz created by the Pope’s announcement
that he will retire, it could be easy to miss the fact that his last
Mass will be on Ash Wednesday and not in the normal location for the
first day of Lent, reports the Catholic News Agency.“It’s very clear that St Peter’s is a much bigger church than Santa Sabina in Aventino, so for a celebration in which we expect there will be a lot of faithful, bishops and cardinals who wish to be present to pray together with the Pope, St Peter’s Basilica was chosen spontaneously,” Father Federico Lombardi told CNA yesterday.
“It’s a natural motive of space and it’s also necessary to bear in mind that this will probably be the last big liturgical celebration, the last Mass, presided over by the Pope with the cardinals. So it’s normal that it occurs in his church, in St. Peter’s Basilica,” the Vatican spokesman said.