Pope Francis on Friday urged Catholics who are fasting during Lent to try and do so with a cheerful smile rather than looking glum.
"Let us strive to fast during Lent with a smile, rather than a long face," Francis tweeted from his nine-language @pontifex account.
Francis was due to return to the Vatican on Friday from six days of silent Lenten spiritual exercises in Ariccia outside Rome.
The 40-day Christian fasting period began on 1 March and leads up to Easter. It symbolises the days before Jesus' crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, when he spent 40 days and nights alone in the Judaean Desert being tempted by Satan.
