Christians will get one last nibble on their paczkis and king cakes as Mardi Gras and the Carnival Season give way to Ash Wednesday this week.

With a solemn mark of ashes on their foreheads, worshippers across Sonoma County gathered to observe Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season.

Severe weather didn’t put a damper on the observance of Ash Wednesday, which is especially poignant this year as Pope Francis remains hospitalized in Rome.

The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season leading to Easter on Wednesday without the participation of Pope Francis, who is in the third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia.