Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano sprinkles ashes on the forehead of American Cardinal James Stafford, who presided in the name of Pope John Paul II at Ash Wednesday prayers in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Wednesday. During the ceremony, Roman Catholic faithful prayed for the pope's recovery as he missed the solemn prayers that ushered in the sacred and Lenten season for the first time in his 26-year papacy.